Destati

i.

It happens only once in a few centuries. When it does happen, the whole city knows. It's not something that others can avoid hearing about. The information comes out in forms of broadcasts, newspapers, alerts, and any other kind of information that the government can produce. The news goes on for days, sometimes months depending on who it is. There was one time where they had alerts posted around the city for a whole year. They stayed static, electronic signs flashing every hour with the picture of the child. It's a grim time for the city when it happens.

Many people fear it happening. There are fake news reports and messages that come out every once in a while saying another one has appeared. People scream and the cities go empty for a few days. They've been trained to think the worst. They've been trained to think that the one who has it is not human. They've been trained to avoid the person and their family at all cost. They've been trained to speak nicely if one were to approach them. Because no one wants to upset the person.

It's a very serious matter around the world. Doctors and nurses are trained for years on how to deal with the condition if they were to encounter it. There are drills in schools and businesses if one of them were to escape. There are emergency buttons placed in every building in the world. The condition is not something to be hesitant about.

With the increase of technology and intelligence, schools have begun to offer full majors about the condition. There's PHD's and MA's, even high school classes about it. It was highly sought after and people would be paid great money if they were knowledgeable about the condition. It was that fear by the public.

The year is 2156 when it happens for the seventh time. April 12th is the specific day. 10:56 in the morning, the specific time. The doctors know immediately. Mrs. Oh pushes and pushes until her new baby boy comes. The happiness of having her second son is short lived. There's banging and a few gasps as the table breaks and the baby almost falls to the floor. Nurses scream and the doctor quickly sets the baby down in its own little incubator. Mrs. Oh stares in confusion along with the nurses. Seconds later, the incubator shakes and one of the legs cracks. The several people stare at each other, none of them doing anything. It's been over a hundred years since it had happened. The nurses standing in the room aren't prepared. They haven't been trained for it because it's so rare. Mrs. Oh screams and tells them to pick up her baby when another leg shows a crack.

No one moves though. The doctor only whispers to the nurse next to him. The first leg cracks and Mrs. Oh pulls her IV out, blood dripping to the floor quickly. She whines in pain as she tries to run over to her baby boy. The baby cries loudly, little fists curled up and waving in the air occasionally. Tears fall from Mrs. Oh's eyes. She doesn't know what's happening and she doesn't understand why no one is acting to help her. The doctor leaves and the nurses come over to her, trying to tell her to return to her bed because she's still weak and in pain. Her arm has blood dripping down and through her gown. Her arms begin to shake with pain, her baby feeling like he weighs more than her. Her muscles tense and the weight is getting heavier and heavier with each passing second.

"Mrs. Oh," the doctor says calmly, his hand on her shoulder. "Mrs. Oh, listen to me very carefully. You need to put your son down. It is very important that you set him back in the incubator right now."

She only sobs and shakes her head at the doctor's orders. "No! That thing will break! I'm not going to leave my baby in there!"

Her arms feel like they're being put in a vice. The feel like they're being bent in half and it gets worse by the second. When she hears a crack, the doctor grabs the baby from her, setting it in the incubator quickly before he suffers the same fate. Mrs. Oh screams and holds her arm tightly, the swelling already beginning. The nurses help her to the bed, putting her IV back in and giving her pain medication as fast as they can. Everything happens so fast and it's too much for Mrs. Oh. Her son cries and cries louder and she cries with him too, not knowing the horrible fate that has been put on him.