The Tattoo

Chapter 1

Chapter 1~The Normal Life

In a matter of hours, the government shut down and the world erupted into chaos. It started as a normal Friday, the Friday before homecoming. My whole senior class was raving about the football game coming up that night, I am lucky that I missed it. My mother was out working when I got home from school and my dad was helping my sister get ready to go to my grandparents for the weekend.

"Sarah, just...sit still while I put your shoes on." He mutters, my sister absentmindedly swinging her feet off the counter. "Hey, dad, where is..." I start to ask when the cartoons on the tv switch to the news. "Breaking news. The government has gone into full shutdown. There are a total of four hundred confirmed cases of foreign bodies on earth in the U.S. alone, and they are destroying into and making it their own. Please be advised, they look extremely close to humans. They are killing our kind, looking out for signs of eye color changes, quicker than normal reflexes, and a tattoo on their body resembling this." a picture of a black circle, surrounded by purple rings, three of them, pops onto the screen. I look at my father, he stares blankly at the now black screen. "Is this a joke?" I ask, a humorous laugh leaving me. "I don't think so. I have to call your mother. Do me a favor, pack four duffle bags of each of our essentials and one of our emergency items." Dad worked in a lab, looking back he did not seem as surprised as he should have. Almost...prepared. But I didn't say anything as I shoved clothes, towels, and keepsakes into each bag before setting them by the door. "Sarah, go grab the first aid kit in the bathroom." I order as I grab the two emergency bags from the closet. Dad comes bounding down the steps before grabbing the keys off of the counter. "Your mom is going to meet us at the cabin." "the vacation place?" I try to remember where it is, but we haven't gone in years. "Yes, it's about six hours away.'' He ignores my looks and begins to load the hummer. I thought he would take the truck, but he didn't even look at it. "Let's go Izzy." he snaps. I go say something about Sarah but she heads past me and into the back seat. "I will be right back." I turn and bolt into the house before he can respond. I tear through my room before finding what I am looking for. My notebooks and art supplies, I shove it in my backpack with my phone and other small trinkets and head back. This feels surreal, but soon It will be the new normal.