Descent

Chapter 23

Mai awoke with a sudden jolt from her dream-like state, her eyes large and panicked as she leaned over the bedside to retch the contents of her stomach. She heaved until only air escaped her lips and sweat began to drench her forehead. She wished these visits from the otherworldly visions of lost loved ones did not have to involve such a rude awakening. The talk with her father though had reinvigorated her, despite feeling like she was still going to launch more contents of her stomach at any moment. She began to take in her surroundings with cautious curiosity. The room she was in was cold and sterile. There were towers of metal with flashing lights with tubes running between them and herself. Mai could only assume this was the Highwaymen's infirmary, albeit it was devoid of life, unlike the warmth of Prosperity. Mai wiped the bile from her lips and began ripping out her tubes eager to get the hell out of here. Eager to get home to the others. Somehow.

"Now I normally don't say this but that was rather hot." a man's voice teased from elsewhere in the room.

Mai stopped short of ripping out the last few tubes, seeing the face of the greasy Buck Hughes standing in the doorway of her room. His face was still bruised and swollen from their last encounter but he still managed to make her skin crawl with a lone twitch of the lips. The coyote took a deep breath as she tried to contain herself from ripping right out of this bed. The only other thing stopping her was the fact that she was in fact chained like an animal, making escape unlikely. Buck began walking towards her, standing at the foot of the bed. His hands crept under the medical gown she wore, his fingers tracing the calves of her legs.

"Shall we pick up where we left off?"

Mai began to kick violently, "Get the fuck off me."

His hands came to grip around her calves now, running further up until she thought she was going to throw up again right then and there. He thought he was going to get lucky but he had another thing coming to him as she wiggled one leg out of his grasp and send her foot directly into his already pummeled face. She felt the subtle crunch of his nose shift before Buck fell flat on his ass out of view, cursing her violently. He grabbed the edge of the bed to help himself up, his dagger from their previous encounter now brandished.

"You bloody bitch. I'll stuff you until you can't feel anything anymore."

What a predicament to find herself in here. She was, one, strapped down, two, naked so to speak, and three, about to find out what the hell this man with the strange accent meant by getting stuffed. To her relief, another figure walked straight through the door, followed by two individuals wearing dingy white coats. Raven and some doctors Mai assumed.

"My dearest Bambi, what did we say about playing with the merchandise..." Raven said condescendingly.

Buck seemed irritated by Raven's presence, but it could just be he was angry about her breaking his nose again.

"Why haven't you already bled her out like a pig yet? I got contacts back home waiting for a hit of this stuff with all this hype you keep promoting."

Mai watched uncomfortably as Raven, measurably taller than Buck stood chest to chest with him, jabbing her finger into his chest.

"I will not let a man tell me how to run my business. Now, you better put on your best behavior tonight for my guests, and then I'll consider offering to fix that nasal problem of yours."

Buck looked as though he were ready to blow a blood vessel the way his face reddened and seemed to tighten. He glanced to Mai before making his way out of the room, leaving her with Raven and the doctors who had accompanied her. As much as Mai enjoyed seeing Buck being put in his place, she was not relieved to still be in the presence of the woman who had tortured and mutilated her friend and brother. Raven seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts though, beginning to silently monologue to herself.