Hannah Shayman

Hannah Shayman (born Hannah Kady) is a main character in Season 7 of The Boy from the Bunker and is portrayed by Jennifer Connelly in the books. She is the biological mother of Quill Bell and arrives at Basilisk after leaving The City of Targo in the hopes of rekindling her relationship with Quill.

Hannah was married to a man named Alfred Shayman who was killed in one of the approaching wars whilst she was pregnant with Quill Bell. In an attempt to spare her son from the same fate as her husband, she travelled across the DeadLands to find shelter for him after learning that some of the people from her City were leaving to take long-term refuge in a Bunker. Knowing that a group of strangers wouldn't accept her into their shelter, Hannah made the impossible decision to hide Quill in the Bunker and tell him not to come out of his hiding place for several hours so that by the time the residents had moved in, he would be sealed inside. Because of this, it left Quill will the assumption that she was dead - like Hannah believed she would be - but she returned to The City of Targo where they were both from. Her brother is Josiah Kady and her niece is Isobel Kady.

 Prior to Season 1 

Hannah lived with her husband Alfred Shayman in The City of Targo (before Rhea's rise to power). When the war that were wrecking disasters on the ground started approaching The City, Alfred was recruited to fight for his clan and subsequently lost his life. Months after, Hannah gave birth to their child who was known - at the time - as Quill Shayman. However, despite many of the people from their clan losing their lives to protect them, the wars were still threatening their safety. Running out of options, Hannah overheard a group of people (Kane, Junius and Holden) discussing their plans to cross the DeadLands and take shelter in a Bunker they had secured on the other side. Knowing that she had no other alternative to keeping Quill safe, Hannah managed to sneak onto one of the crates of furniture that was arranged to be transported to the people's Bunker and endured the 5-day trip whilst trying to keep her and her child concealed. Once the vehicle came to it's final stop, Hannah hurried Quill out of sight and waited until everything was moved into the Bunker before she approached. As she knew that the residents were arriving in a vehicle that was following behind, Hannah approached the Bunker which was unlocked, and brought Quill to the entrance. Because she didn't want him to be afraid - as he was only 2 years old at the time - Hannah held off her goodbyes and instead, told Quill that he needed to find somewhere safe inside the Bunker and stay hidden until someone found him or if he was really hungry (as she knew the residents would be inside by then). Once she knew that Quill understood he had to stay inside, Hannah sealed him in the Bunker and in an act of self sacrifice - knowing that Quill wouldn't be allowed refuge inside if he had a parent with him who could find him another shelter. This final memory soon became the only one Quill had left of her and because of what he knew about the ground, he and his adopted parents came to the conclusion that Hannah would have died without being in the shelter with him.

 Season 6 

Hannah is introduced in the final episode of Season 6 when she approached Sol Riverly - who she has known as the Commander of The City of Targo for the past 9 months - and asks for her and a small group of people (Hannah's Clan) to join them in where they are heading as they (Basilisk) have destroyed their City and left them without any defence after killing their guards. As their request is rejected and Hannah's desperation seeps through, Sovereign Wynn orders for the rest of their people in the room (Fenn, Bas and Quill) to leave and head to the safety of the nearby Refuge in case things turn violent once again. As Quill listens to his brother's order and begins to slip away from the room, Hannah latches onto him and stops him from leaving, caught by a sudden recognition. Whilst everyone else believes it is the beginning of a hostage scenario, Hannah finds the strength to mumble Quill's name as she realises that he is her biological son and the spitting image of his biological father. It is at this moment that Quill also realises who she is.

 Season 7 

After making the 11 day trek through the DeadLands for the chance to know Quill, Hannah and her small clan of people arrive at Basilisk with the long-returning Nobel Sovereign Sol Riverly. However, things aren't as she had always dreamed they would be; Quill is struggling with the reappearance of his biological mother after having spent the past 17 years of his life thinking she was dead. Not only that, but he was adopted by Martha and Kane - who gave him three siblings he loves more than anything - and has to live through the grief of his dad just having been killed - after everything he has done to his family; the brutal memories of his mother's death after her betrayal; and the loss of his oldest brother, Ares, who he is still adjusting to life without. Overwhelmed by all of the emotions he has to figure out, Quill is guarded and closed-off to Hannah's initial attempts to know him and in the process, also shuts out Wynn and Elara. Afraid that their persuasion will turn Quill away from her for good, Hannah unravels a set of implants that she and her friends began working on in The City of Targo for preparation for the new Commander in the chance that The Alteration wouldn't work on compelling them and altering their thoughts. The implants - which can be used to control their hosts, as well as cause internal torture such as electric shocks and seizures - are activated under Hannah's power and she finds her first victim in Bas Blackwood. After ordering him to bring to her the "person he loves most in the world" as a way of confirming that the implants do work, Hannah is relieved when Bas brings along his little brother Harlow to be left in their company in the forest late in the evening. When Bas later wakes up and realises that his brother is missing, a search party takes places as Hannah holds onto Harlow in an attempt to lure Wynn out to where no one can see them but instead, Kodiak is the one to show up. Deciding not to let it ruin her plans, Hannah injects an implant into Kodiak's head and threatens to hurt Elara if he tells the other Sovereigns about his new device. With Bas and now Sovereign Kodiak under her control, Hannah takes her last victim as Chessca Jones when she is walking to her tent one night. Hannah is able to target specific people to Quill to distract their attention away from him and allow Hannah to become the main, constant figure in his life. She plans to use Chessca to distract Sol's attention away from Wynn, Kodiak to distract Elara's attention away from Quill, and Bas just to test if the implants worked. One of the first missions she gives is for Chessca to steal one of the Sovereigns' radios and arrange a secretive meeting with Diego - leader of Blood Riders - and warn them about the impending flood that is to wipe everyone out, as well as Basilisk's plans to head into shelter and leave them all for dead. By doing this, Basilisk's already fragile alliance with Blood Riders comes to a dangerous end.

Season 9

When the survivors of the flood and their imprisonment on Neptunum arrive on an island west of the DeadLands, a series of journals are discovered by Izzy Kady Zora and Kodiak Zora which reveal a secretive past for several of Hannah's biological family. As well as the truth being revealed that Hannah is a former member of West of The City Exile Allegiance, it is discovered that Quill has connections and guaranteed protection in the clan through her, as well as the revelation that he is the biological cousin of Isobel Kady Zora - the child that his sister, Elara, adopted with Kodiak Zora. Further, the group at Basilisk also learn that Izzy was born at West of The City Exile Allegiance, and not in The City of Targo like they initially believed after finding her there.