At a moment in time where Isabelle Hernandez should have been overjoyed, having just given birth to a healthy baby boy, she found herself in a frenzied panic. Her heart was racing, and her hands were shaking rapidly as she clasped them together in prayer: Praying that her newborn baby boy wasn’t one of them; a monster. Isabelle knew this day would come eventually ever since she got pregnant. The day when her baby would undergo a blood test immediately after birth, to confirm if he was human or monster.
Monsters are what they were deemed, but they were more akin to mutants. Humans with altered DNA strands, granting them unbelievable powers started to manifest seemingly overnight around twenty years ago. Nobody to this very day knows where these powers came from, but they did manage to leave a huge dent on humanity. At first, peaceful relations were attempted to be had with the “evolved” humans. However, it was a fragile peace that soon turned sour. Although most of the evolved humans were just average civilians, the few that weren’t, managed to ruin peace for them all. Just five years after the “Human Mutation Event,” a catastrophic incident occurred, simply deemed “The Day.” On what should have been a festive evening on January First, Two thousand nine, a domestic terrorist attack carried out by one single evolved human occurred. An individual, simply known as “The Bomb Man,” unleashed unprecedented havoc on New York City. This individual possessed a deadly explosion power that released from within himself. When the explosion activated at the heart of Time’s Square, the blast claimed over one million lives.
Shortly following the events of “The Day,” even more terrorist attacks occurred throughout the globe, almost as if it sparked some sort of chain reaction. Hellish fires occurred from people with fire powers. Random killing sprees by the evolved humans happened throughout the globe. A man even froze thousands of people on a whim. Order had to be maintained, so the world went to drastic measures.
Shortly following these terrorist activities, all evolved humans around the world were to be executed immediately, with the exception of the government’s “heroes.” Civilians around the globe were rounded up like livestock, in order to be blood tested for the genetic mutation. If anyone opposed or tried to flee, they were instantly killed by the “heroes.” Over 3 billion evolved humans were snuffed out and eliminated from the globe during these blood tests.
Ever since the incident, yearly blood tests were mandated around the world for every single person. Newborns were not exempt. A gene that could seemingly manifest randomly for any single individual, required strict regulations, according to the government. At least fifty thousand lives are taken yearly due to these blood tests. Even if the person showed no signs of super powered abilities, they were still killed all the same.
In the present day, at a hospital in Northern Virginia, Isabelle Hernandez eagerly awaited the results of her son’s blood test. She nervously paced around her room, biting her thumb until it was raw and pulled at her hair intensely. Although she should’ve been resting, recovering from just giving birth, the woman would not, or rather could not rest until she knew her child was safe.
“What the hell is taking so long?” said Isabelle, frantically pacing around the room with a flushed red face, as she continued to mutilate her left thumb. “How long does a fucking blood test take?”
“Everything will be fine, Isabelle. Please calm down and get some rest,” said Jessie, calmly sitting in a chair and reading. “None of our family or Jaime’s has ever had any trouble with the blood tests. Just be patient, little sister.”
“Easy for you to say. It’s not your damn child!” Isabelle screamed.
“After nine months, you never even came up with a name for your own child, Isabelle. You’re being too paranoid. Nobody on the East Coast has had a positive blood test in years! Just relax, and maybe come up with a name for your baby.”
“That damn Jaime. Won’t even show up for his own child’s birth!”
“Yeah, you never knew how to pick em’, sis,” said Jessie, snarkily laughing at her flustered sister.
“Just fuck off already!”
“Hey, at least I showed up. Me and little Paco are the only family you have left, so show a little respect!” said Jessie.
“Fuck you! And who the hell is Paco?”
“Your son. I just came up with a name since you were too lazy to do it yourself. Cute name, right?”
“No, it’s stupid. I’m not naming my son that.”
“Well, you’ll have to come up with one eventually,” said Jesse, as she stood up to embrace her frantic sister. “He’s going to come through that door at any minute. A perfectly normal baby boy. So, get to naming!” she continued. “And for Christ’s sake, would you please lay back down? You’re making me nervous.”
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“Alright, I’m sorry. I’ll try to relax a bit. If my baby is one of them, though… I just don’t know what I’d do,” said Isabelle, as tears ran down her face.
“Come here,” said Jessie as she grabbed her sister’s hands. “Let us pray,” she continued as she closed her eyes.
“Y-yeah,” Isabelle replied, shutting her eyes tightly.
***
Thirty minutes after the two sisters started to pray, a doctor finally entered Isabelle’s room with the results of her son’s blood test. Isabelle’s baby was nowhere to be seen as a look of dread started to creep on the woman’s face.
“M-my child,” Isabelle stuttered. “Where is my baby?”
“Ms. Hernandez, I’m sorry, but your child is-”
Isabelle’s mind completely went blank before she heard the doctor’s last word.
No no no, this can’t be happening. How? Why? My child is….
Isabelle’s mind raced rapidly as she tried to comprehend her reality. Her breathing was unstable and her hands were shaking fiercely. She could not calm herself to think about what would happen next.
I can’t lose him.
“Is… Is he already gone?” Isabelle asked as calmly as she could.
“No, not yet. His termination will be carried out by the government. Armed agents will be here shortly to take him away,” the doctor said apathetically.
“I see,” Isabelle said. “Could I see him one last time?” she asked, trying to wipe her tears away. New tears kept following, however.
“Isabelle… you shouldn’t,” Jessie said, hanging her head down low. J-just let him go.”
“He’s my son,” said Isabelle as she painfully stood up from her hospital bed. “He will always be my son. Please doctor. Let me see my boy,” she continued, pleading with the apathetic doctor.
The doctor sighed as if he didn’t want to be bothered. He begrudgingly accepted the distraught mother’s request, escorting her along with an armed guard, in order to see her child for the last time.
***
Isabelle held her son tightly in a room full of armed guards. She whispered to him softly, trying her best to hold back tears.
“Hey little guy. Your mother will always love you,” she said in a soft voice. “I never gave you a name, did I? I’m sorry about that. I’m such a horrible mother… Please forgive me, Fabio,” Isabelle cried, finally naming her child. “Fabio Hernandez, that’s who you are. You’ll live a long life without any regrets, you hear me?!” she screamed, holding her child tightly.
The newborn baby was not loud at all. His eyes were shut tightly as he slightly moaned in his sleep.
“You’re not a crier at all, huh?” Isabelle said. “You’re gonna be a tough one!” she continued, conjuring up a slight smile.
“I’m sorry Ms. Hernandez, but it seems you’re out of time,” the doctor said as another guard entered the room.
“I see…” she said as she grimaced and gritted her teeth.
As she started to hand Fabio over to the doctor, Isabelle stopped herself.
“No!” She yelled as she made a mad dash for the door. “Don’t worry my sweet child. I’ll be with you until the end.” she said.
“Shoot them!” the head guard ordered as a barrage of bullets was released toward Isabelle and Fabio.
The bullets failed to kill them, however. Moments before their deaths, Fabio’s powers manifested unconsciously. The newborn baby instinctually protected itself and his mother, forming an impenetrable force field around the two of them.
“I-Impossible,” a guard said.
“There’s no way a baby should be able to use their powers so soon,” another guard said. “C-call in a hero, now!”
Isabelle wasted no time, running as fast as she could out the door. Bullets had no effect, so the guards tried restraining them. The force field Fabio projected, instantly rejected anyone besides his mother. Nobody could touch the two of them at that moment.
“Amazing. Lord bless you, sweet child,” Isabelle said, as she continued to escape.
Although Fabio’s force field protected him and his mother, Isabelle’s stamina rapidly drained. She could not run for much longer, as guards popped out from every corner of the hospital. She could not find a clear exit route. She eventually found her way to a rooftop, where no guards were present. She instantly dropped to the ground, gasping for air as she held Fabio tightly.
“W-what should I do?” Isabelle said standing up, as guards quickly swarmed the roof.
A blast of light suddenly hit the force field, heavily burning Isabelle’s back as she dropped to the ground, screaming in pain.
“Enough with the games, woman. Hand over the kid if you wanna live,” a voice said.
The man who could radiate light from his hands, dressed in an all black suit with a scar across his face, addressed Isabelle in a demanding fashion. He was a young man appearing to be in his mid-twenties, with brown hair and white skin. This man was a “hero.”
“No, fuck off and just let us go!” Isabelle screamed. “I promise this child will never hurt anyone! I’ll raise him right!”
“If only it were that simple,” the hero said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case,” he said with slight empathy.
Isabelle put on a slight smirk as she accepted her fate, kissing her child one last time, placing a silver necklace around Fabio.
“You will live!” Isabelle screamed, holding her son tightly. “You hear me, Fabio? Don’t you dare die! Don’t you ever die!”
“Okay, that’s enough! Hand over the damn baby already!” one of the guards screamed, before being incinerated in a blast of light.
“Oh, shut up,” the hero said, wiping a tear from his eye. “How can you not be moved by such a touching scene? Let the woman grieve for a while longer!” the hero ordered the rest of the guards.
“Y-yes sir!” the guards responded in unison.
“I love you, Fabio,” Isabelle whispered, dropping her son from the rooftop. “Please God, watch over my child,” she smiled before being incinerated.
The hero rushed to the edge of the roof, searching for the child in order to end his life. Fabio was nowhere to be found.
“Well, I’ll be fucking damned,” the hero said, looking at the pile of ash which was Isabelle just moments prior. “Looks like your gamble paid off, miss,” he continued, wearing a slight smile on his face.