Chapter 3: The traveller and registry

Following a near-death experience, the planet experienced a time of conflict over resources, including water, land, and other necessities. However, that catastrophe came to an end when a miracle that can only be described as the world's rebirth occurred, bringing with it new areas and an abundance of resources.

Although the human species was preserved, something else emerged as a result of the miracle. Extraordinary humans with the ability to tame nature and the natural order, the rebirth of earth was met with smiles and relief, but the humans who were different were seen as cursed... a punishment from the gods for their misdeed; instead of accepting the new circumstances, the mundane isolated the different and labeled them 'Infected'.

The Registry is a government organization that holds records of infected individuals and requires them to follow particular procedures to become recognized citizens.

 When they are found to be infected, they must register their activities once every week. Infected individuals must update the registry with their employment and relocations, unlike non-infected citizens. The registry didn't control their lives, only infectants. 

However, the infected are occasionally assigned the role of a hunter, which is a person who is sent to the distant corners of the world. The earth's rebirth was accompanied by miserable creatures that reside in remote areas. The animals were a penalty for man's selfishness, far from humans but similar to the infected.

However, we'll come to that later; for now, the adventure goes on:

 Thud! The office worker's face appeared exhausted as his hands trembled while he gripped his face, and the notepad and pen dropped to the ground. He paused after chuckling a little and said:

 "Wow, hahaha that kid is still alive heh"

 Allie asked, tilting her head:

 "Alive what do you mean?"

 The officer's head snapped into focus as he coughed in humiliation. He knelt down to the girl's size and added:

"Can you go call my colleague near the reception please this is a sensitive manner, can you do that?"

 With a naive smile, Allie said:

 "Okay" she said, leaving the adults alone as she left. The cop sat down in the chair and grabbed out his notes from the ground. After inhaling, he added:

 "Firstly, I would like to apologies for my behavior a moment ago, so the boy you said his name is Maddison is a suspect in genocide case"

 Joseph was taken aback when his face revealed the same emotion as his wife. With a little trepidation, she inquired:

 The words "Ge...Geno....cide" came out loud.

"That isn't feasible; the child is a welcome addition to our neighborhood. The parks are kept clean by him despite his... restrictions.

 The officer explained:

 "You said he took a bath at your place once; did you see a sect tattoo on his back?"

 Mary reflected about Maddison for a long time; she did notice a tattoo of something that made her wince, but she kept seeing a black mass that made her progressively forget the mark.

 "You cannot recall it, don't you?"

 Mary was a little taken aback when the officer said:

 "It's him alight"

The silent Joseph then inquired:

 "Who is this kid my wife invited into our home?"

 "That youngster has a metropolitan kind of power that can wipe out entire cities and villages since he is a fifth tier infected. He is a suspect in the genocide that occurred five years ago at the conference of five; we believe Mister Maddison murdered his peers and superiors."

 Upon hearing this, Joseph attempted to recall Maddison's final words before he passed out: "I'm taking you to your family." Should he express gratitude to the man, or should he keep quiet and ask his wife for her opinion?

 Mary's venomous response was:

"He is only a child, not a formula for devastation like the other infected; he may be one, but he saved me and my child from the abyss of losing Joseph by providing hope. You, the government, and the registry treat the gods' gifts as curses and punishment, unaware that your current avarice is the penalty. Also, may I see a picture to be sure we're talking about the same person?" she asked, holding out her hand.

 The cop got out of the chair and said, "Excuse me," raising an eyebrow.

"Did I stutter, let's see if we are talking about the same Maddison?"

 The cop wanted to chuckle and play the woman's games, and he was about to say so when his colleague entered with the small girl.

 The officer grinned and said:

 "Corporal show this lovely young lady here the wanted posters of the Maddison kid"

 "Yes sir"

 He took his phone and typed for a while before handing it to the woman and said:

 "This is mister Maddison from five years ago"

His colleague sneered at him and added thoughtfully:

 "Why would he refer to an infected as a mister in front of me? Maybe he read the room, huh. "Clever kid or just polite," he thought with some disgust.

 It was a photograph of a young person in a dark kimono with messy brown hair with a smile and dazzling black eyes. The photo had a writing that stated arrest on sight.

 "That is his mugshot from when we arrested him five years ago, but he escaped. We have been seeking for him ever since; some believe he died in a hole somewhere. If you have information, we can withdraw your husband's register status for missing his daily quoter.

Joseph added incredulously and angrily:

 "Is that a threat?"

 "No, that's a helping hand from one family man to another," Officer explained.

 After Mary showed his daughter the photo, she shook her head and said:

 "That is not Maddison"

 "Excuse me?" the shocked officer asked.

As he returned the photo to the corporal, Mary grinned and turned to face her daughter, who described the clearest hint she had shared with the officer. Maddison had several limits, which she assumed were caused by his birth or later in infancy, the officer remembered and was waiting for the answer:

 Allie further explained:

 "Mister Maddison is blind, that is not him"