A Choice Made

Posted on Sun Sep 15th, 2024 @ 18:05 by Jonathan Monroe

Chapter: Besieged
Location: GOU Registration Post - Outside Avalon
Timeline: Monday 1st February
639 words - 1.3 OF Standard Post Measure

There were a lot of eyes. A lot of cameras. Too many, for Jonathan's liking. Crossing the bridge and walking to the temporary registration site was his choice. The furore that surrounded it was not.

The prefab building surrounded with tents, trucks, and a temporary fence appeared a little closer to a military outpost than an NHS center, which did little to alleviate his anxiety. The uniformed police officers on guard eyed him with a mix of curiosity and disdain as he walked as steadily as he could through the entry path to the site. A nervous-looking young woman in a nurse's uniform and ID was the first to approach him, pointing for the solitary mutant to head for one of the prefabs. He almost smiled ironically at the empty roped-off 'queue' line - as though they would see such demand that it would be needed.

Inside of the temporary building a trio of doctors waited, with another individual - one that was clearly neither a doctor nor a police officer. Certainly not a uniformed one, for sure.

Ushered into a curtained-off space, Jonathan took a seat as guided. One of the doctors sat across from him with a clipboard and pen. Sweat formed on his brow as he seemed almost unfamiliar with this process. A second was gathering up needles and vials.

"N-Name?" the first doctor asked after clearing his throat heavily.

"Bl-" Jonathan bit back the urge to give his 'other' name. "Jonathan Monroe."

"Nationality."

"American. Born in Chicago." The commentary drew another nervous nod as the second doctor lay down a surgical tray. "What's this?"

"Just a simple blood test, nothing to fear. Purely for DNA logging."

"I'm not afraid," Jonathan remarked, giving the first doctor a vague smirk. Beyond him, the non-uniformed man seemed to twitch slightly.

"Roll up your sleeve please." The second doctor was brusque, unbothered as he went his business. A prick to the crook of his arm, and a couple of small tubes of his blood were taken.

"Would you mind, uhm...describing your symptoms?" the first doctor inquired. The word use almost made Jonathan balk, but he tried not to make too much of a visible show of it.

"I'm not sick, if that's what you're trying to imply. I'm a mutant. My gifts are just that." After pausing from the correction he angled his head a little to consider how best to explain things without scaring the poor unsuspecting doctor too much. "Pyrokinetics. Means I can manipulate fire. I can demonstrate if you like..."

"No, no...that's fine." The nervous doctor scribbled hasty notes. "We will note your...circumstances. As you are a registered citizen of a foreign nation, information will be shared with your home government of course. Your cooperation has also been noted. May I take information as regards next-of-kin?"

The question made Jonathan actually fall silent to think for a very long time. When it came to family, there was basically nobody left to call upon. He was essentially estranged from any real blood relative. And that really only meant his adoptive family, so to speak. A faint frown crossed his brow, but then it relaxed as he sat up straight.

"Yeah. Claire Cavendish. The Avalon Institute."

The questions were over, along with the brief medical exam. Unhindered, Jonathan was permitted to leave the prefab structures and begin the slow walk back towards the gates of Avalon.

---

Inside the examination room, the doctors filed their notes, collected the blood samples and prepared to file them for return to the labs. As the documentation was being collated, the un-uniformed man moved from his post, picked up one of the vials of blood, and slipped it silently into a small black case. And then, wordlessly, he left the doctors to their work and departed the building alone.