The Raven Gang (Noble Animals Book 1)

by Brendan Walsh

  Hullway didn’t even stick around to say anything to the gang. He rushed out as fast as he could with a damaged leg back down the hallway to the outside world. He was going to get help.

  The whole gang was now the only beings left in the wrecked room. They considered checking on their collapsed enemy, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Dead or alive, the villain knew what he was getting into with their mad science. Against all odds the raven gang had won the battle, and every one of them was still alive.

  “I can’t believe it.” Slate said. “We just beat them.”

  “The whole country was about to end as we know it, and no one will ever know about it.” Johnny pensively mused.

  Jane joined them, strapped the bass guitar over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t go that far. There were witnesses, and that guy who left is certainly going to tell the police.”

  “Oh my God!” Patrick suddenly screamed out loud, immediately diverting the attention to him. “The president! He’s giving a speech right now and there’s a bomb under him. If he steps off that podium he’s dead!”

  “Dear lord. What do we do?” Gary asked.

  Wasting no more time, Edgar leaped out from between everyone and easily cruised out through the roof, as the smoke was still coming out of his ears. His human friends called out for him but it was of no use. The bat was going to save the president.

  “This could end very badly.” Gary observed. “But the world could use just a little more weird this holiday season.”

  Lindsey’s jaw dropped as she looked at the ceiling. “Can’t stop it now. Let’s just see how everyone reacts.”

  “I don’t mean to be that guy.” Johnny said, in a way that showed he did indeed actually intend to be that guy. “But we really need to go. I think I hear police sirens approaching and the fire department should be here in no time since Slate triggered the fire alarm.”

  There was still so much on Patrick’s mind. What did his dream mean? Were they not just random nonsense? If not, what was his father talking about? “Guys there’s a lot I need to tell you.” he said solemnly. “I know I was stabbed with a sword through the back, and I know I was about to die, but I didn’t. I know it wasn’t just my imagination. Some really strange stuff has been going on with me lately and it might mean a lot more than I originally thought. It’s definitely connected to what’s been going on with Elder’s plan.”

  “Patrick, I would love to have this conversation with you.” said Jane, with genuine concern. “But we really need to go, and now.”

  A couple blocks away, just as the group was preparing to finally leave the battle building. The President of the United States was halfway through his speech. He was addressing a large crowd on the most potent issue currently facing the welfare of the nation. The Raven Gang.

  “And we should not have anything to fear.” he spoke to everyone, not once looking away from the nervous gaze of his crowd. “It is them who have to fear. The clan of young juveniles called The Raven Gang have failed to realize that they can’t simply create chaos in a nation without proper recompense. We are a union of patriotic, passionate, and free people, and it’ll take much more than some cowardly scare tactics to bring us down.” he looked down at his notes, to make sure he got the next part right. “Patrick Theodore Buchanan, Garrett Jackson Frost, John Lachlan Mars, and Slate Carlyle Kilroy. These people are enemies of the state, and will forever more be regarded by this government as traitors of the highest degree.”

  A whisked breeze sprang up on the entire crowd as a dark form rapidly descended right where the leader of the most powerful nation was standing. Several astonished gasps rippled through the crowd as what appeared to be a giant bat swooped down and picked up President Gear in between its wings, and a loud fiery blast went off on top of the stage. The large flying creature dropped the man at its earliest convenience onto the ground. Considering how fast Edgar was going when he picked him up and dropped him, it probably hurt quite a bit. The president landed roughly on the concrete floor, right on his hand. By the time the secret service was able to get their guns out and secure their boss the bat was long gone, and all that was left was an exploded stage and a president clutching his broken hand in pain.

  “Wait guys, where’s my dad?” Lindsey asked. She looked around uneasily.

  “No time!” Gary replied, tugging her along. “He can take care of himself where ever he is. Let’s get out!”

  The gang hurried to get out of the building. But they weren’t heading back the same way they came in. For all they knew there would be mountains of cop cars waiting to greet them on the outside, so they were taking the back exit. They went through the computer room and took an excessively long staircase down to the main ground exit that lead them straight to the adjacent avenue. The street was deserted.

  “Where do we go from here?” Patrick asked.

  “I think I know somewhere we can go.” Guajardo observed. “I’ve been around this area a few times so I know a few of the locals.”

  A bright pair of headlights turned on the far street all the way down to the right, where the night was so strong they could barely see anything else. The headlights belonged to a fancy limousine that was draped in all black with its windows completely tinted, as if it belonged to someone of high esteem. It pulled up close to the curb, right in front of the gang. The passenger window slowly rolled down, and a familiar face could be seen.

  “Get in!” a middle-aged man commanded bluntly.

  “Dad?” Lindsey was forced aback. “How did you get this?”

  “Gunpoint of course. Now get in!”

  Slate opened the side door and they all shuffled in. The interior had comfortable leather upholstery and it had a unique scent of a new car. Lindsey and Johnny took the farthest seats while everyone else piled behind them.

  “Where to?” Gary asked, holding his watch tight against his body.

  “Anywhere.” Patrick replied. Detective Hunter drove onward.

  Once the fighting was over Patrick and Gary had individually retrieved back their watches, the ones given to them by their fathers in the event of their deaths, which happened not very far apart. Patrick eyed the strange device with curiosity. It was clear more than ever that the devices played a unique role in Elder’s game, but even after observing first-hand what the devices could do, it was still unclear what exactly they did.

  “Now, to figure out how these work.” Patrick said.

  His watch was still steaming hot from the battle. The unique material used in its crafting seemed to conserve heat well. The hands of the clock were still moving rapidly from all the kinetic action they had gone through. For all Patrick knew the hands had spun so fast and so hard when they were producing the unique blaze that a million years may as well had gone by.

  Then he noticed something for the first time.

  On the far edge of the inside, almost where the external glass wouldn’t allow anyone to see, were some strange numbers and what almost looked like a small map. With the unique symbols and the color variations Patrick could have sworn he was looking at a specific kind of geographical coordinates. But he had to be sure.

  No one knew how it happened, but somehow the watches began to spin again, producing the same kind of bright colorless light that they did during the battle. It stole everyone’s focus, and they all started to freak out one by one.

  “What did you guys do?” Johnny screamed, trying to get as far away from the light as possible.

  Gary and Patrick were silently panicking. They tried flicking the devices off as if there were a bug on the screen, but it only made matters worse.

  “Stop it. You may get us all killed!” Slate cried out.

  “I- I don’t know how.” Gary replied, with his eyes locked on the screen. He turned to Patrick, whose eyes showed just as much shock as his did. “I guess we’re about to find out exactly what they do.”

&nbs
p; The light easily filtered out of the vehicle. It became so bright and unbearable that Lindsey’s father decided to pull over to the curb in an effort to prevent a crash. But he couldn’t. Instead the light completely took control the limo, directing its every move. The watches knew where it was going, and it was for everyone else to find out. The entire length of the fancy transportation vanished at once in a bright blaze of illumination.

  It had been two days since the President had been mysteriously saved by the strange bat creature, and the media was going wild. A couple camera operators happened to get a few shots just as the event unfolded. They were mostly blurry, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to fathom that there was more to it than caught the eye. The chairman of the N.A.S Doctor Lenny Hullway became the chief witness to the events that unfolded on that December night. He told them about the werewolves and the gryphons and that the raven gang may not be the band of villains previously thought.

  There were other witnesses too. Mostly scientists, but a majority of people still didn’t believe any of the “gibberish” that was going on. Never the less Hullway had made a case that was compelling enough to prevent himself from being arrested immediately for the murder of Grant Patane, whose body was found shortly after. Elder Incorporated was now under heavy investigation, and their headquarters in New York City was in a government-mandated shutdown. No one would be working in there until the conclusion of the investigation.

  “Mr. President, how’s your hand?” asked a nosy reporter as the commander in chief paced roughly through the halls of the white house.

  “And what do you think of all the new reports of the raven gang and the monsters involved?” asked another one.

  “Not now. Not now.” the president muttered to them. “I’ll answer your questions soon, just let me have some time alone. Please.”

  They obeyed him. Gregory Gear rushed down the hall and into the oval office. If there was one place he could be left alone with his thoughts and yet feel like the most powerful man in the world, it was there. He quietly shut the door and alomst flung himself over to the desk.

  When he was comfortably seated on his chair he looked up, was shocked to the bones at what he saw. Standing in the room were seven people, who definitely should not have had access to the room.

  “Who are you? And how did you people get in here?”

  “Relax, Mr. President.” Gary said with a smooth smile. “I believe you know who we are.”

  Gregory Gear took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. “You’re the raven gang. The media has been having a field day with you lately, you know that?”

  “We have an idea.” Johnny countered coolly, taking a few steps closer.

  “I can have secret service in here within five seconds.” he threatened. “Tell me right now why I shouldn’t do that.”

  “Because we’re the ones who saved your life.” Patrick said. He nodded over to the window.

  The President looked over and nearly had yet another cardiac dysfunction. Hanging upside down right in front of the window was a giant bat. The same one that had saved him from being blown to bits. It eyed him happily.

  “I believe you’ve met our friend Edgar.” Patrick smirked as he watched the man’s jaw drop.

  “I really was saved by that thing. I knew it. So I’m not crazy after all.”

  “Not necessarily.” Lindsey waved her finger. “Have you read your foreign policy?”

  The commander in chief brushed the insult off. “Couldn’t you have been a little more careful with my hand? I happen to like my right one. It’s my vetoing hand!”

  “But getting back to your earlier question-” Gary reached into his trench coat pocket and extracted a small yellow sheet of paper. He handed it over to the nation’s leader. “Here is a list of things we need. I believe you can help us get them.”

  After just a quick glance at the list the president’s eyes bolted open.

  “Why? Why would you need any of these things?” he cried out like a small child.

  “Mr. President?” a deep voice suddenly boomed from behind the door. “Mr. President are you alright, sir?”

  “We don’t have a lot of time.” Slate rushed over, getting face to face with the leader. “Can you write down our phone number so you can call us later?”

  President Gear gestured to his right hand and gave him an unamused glare.

  “Never mind. I have something better.” Slate took out a small rectangular sheet of fabric and dropped it on the president’s desk. “Here’s our card. I did the logo myself. I’m something of an artist.”

  “Well, we really better get going.” Jane observed. “See you soon, sir.”

  Patrick and Gary grabbed their watches and a bright light engulfed the entire oval office. The president recoiled in surprise, and the secret service men entered the room just as the light faded, and the raven gang was gone.

  “Mr. President, are you alright? Say something sir!”

  But he wasn’t listening. He was staring intently at the card left for him. It was a two by four inch black sheet. On the upper right corner was the word “Nevermore” in red letters. The rest of the design was littered with strange icons, such as fangs and all black wings. But in the center of the card and written in white lettering with a font that gave the text the shape of either fangs or swords, were three words: The Raven Gang.

  Many miles away on the 33rd floor of an abandoned skyscraper stood Doctor Samuel Bingham Elder. It had been a couple days since the death of his right hand man and the failure of his plan. But he wasn’t letting it get to him that much. The plan had just been nearly a spur of the moment thing compared to what his original draft was. Now he would go back to that one, which was a much more interesting one.

  Out in the distance he could see the Empire State Building. He always liked the view of the city from his headquarters. It was said that you could see all the important tourist attractions in the whole city from the Elder HQ, and it was certainly right. And if things went according to his new plan, all those places that humans love visiting so much will be nothing compared to the grander triumphs that were to come.

  The noise of someone approaching didn’t faze him. He had been expecting it, and he knew there was still some unresolved tension between him and his guest.

  “I actually started suspecting you weren’t going to show up.” Elder said, continuing to stare out the window.

  “Boy, do I have some things to say to you, Samuel.” a woman’s voice replied roughly.

  “Oh please. Do tell.”

  “You think I don’t know what you did two days ago?” she took a few steps closer. Her footfalls echoed across the empty floor. “You could have killed him you know?”

  “But I didn’t.” he finally turned around to face his guest. She was in her late forties, had long black hair and the type of face that age made look better. It had been a long time since he’d seen her. “The results of my experiments have always worked. I knew that a blade though the back would never kill little Paddy.”

  She took a deep breath. “I never wanted any part of this you know? I never wanted my son to be a subject for your godless experiments.”

  “Yes, but if you remember like I do, Gordon was very enthusiastic.”

  “Don’t mention my husband’s name! I’ll never forgive you for what you let happen to him!”

  “You think I wanted it?” Elder began to grow bitterly angry. “I would be nothing without that man! I would have blown my brains out long ago if I never met him.”

  She struggled to fight back tears. “It’s not too late you know. You can stop all this now. End the madness before it’s too late. Losing to the gang was a blessing. The fact that you’re still free means you can have another chance.”

  “My whole business is under heavy investigation now. And I’ve been reported missing, and I have no intention of finishi
ng yet. They may have taken my life’s work but I’ll figure out another way to destroy the raven gang.” he nearly brushed up against his guest, with his eyes burning with rage and determination. “I will tear them apart from the inside. I will make them hate each other. I will ruin everything they’ve stood for, and I will turn all of them into villains.”

  “But my son will live. Promise me no further harm will come to him.”

  The doctor crossed his arms, and in his wild flurry of emotions he tried to produce a genuine smile. “I won’t make any promises, but I’ll do what I can, Mrs. Buchanan.”

  1

  Cafe Conversations

  2

  3

  Guilty Party

  4

  Break and Enter

  Cabin in the Woods

  9

  Know Your Enemy

  10

  Absolutely Batty

  11

  Working Day

  12

  Shoved into the Light

  13

  What the Light did to them

  14

  15

  Camaraderie

  16

  Time for Schemes

  17

  Reading is Important

  18

  Camera Never Lies

  19

  Story Time

  20

  Providence