The Birthmark.

Pain.

"Imogen, wake up. You are safe now. You're at the Aid Wing."

I struggle to open my eyes. When I do, I notice that Isaac and Janine are leaning over me. I'm not dead. Well, if I'm not dead, then what happened back there? I lurch up to a sitting position, and as quick as I sat up, my body sank back down again. A high-pitched shriek leaves my mouth. I wince at the pain whilst clenching tightly onto the bullet (don't say bullet, the bullet will be in your arm, say clenching at my bloodied swollen arm). I forgot that I had an injury. A carer comes to check if I'm alright, but all in an instant Isaac waves her away and gently takes hold of my hand. His touch feels so nice, calming, similar to the effect that my mother's touch has, not the same though. He moves the strand of hair that fell onto my face with the tip of his finger. For a moment he gazes into my eyes. I feel like I could lay here forever with him holding me. He is so quixotic.

He sadly interrupts, "I'm so glad you are ok Imogen. We almost lost you. Luckily Sam was quick enough to shoot the Muzz, just as he was about to shoot you."

"Yeah. If it wasn't for Sam, well... I am just glad you are all right." Janine sighs as she says this to me. As though knowing that I was moments from death, almost killed her. Janine is my closest friend. I have known her since we were both 6 years old. Meeting her is one of my clearest memories, not one of the most honourable moments of mine though. We met on a beautiful sunny day at a small beach area near the city. It has very little sand, mostly pebbles. My sister Leah, Mum, Dad and I, used to go there during the summer. On this particular day, Leah and I were trying to make a sand castle with what little sand there was, and I noticed another girl and boy playing in the sand (Janine and her older brother, Mark). They came over to join us, scraping sand into a pile. I bent over behind me to grab an extra spade and everyone was hysterically laughing. I look down to realise I had only gone and sat on my drink pouch, causing water to leak out making it look as though I had wet myself. They all made fun, Mark especially, but sharing that laughter in my humiliation formed a bond between us. Mark still calls me immature names now, like Peepee and Tiddle, but I've become so used to hearing them that I rarely remember the meaning behind them.

"I have decided, the three of us should do something exciting tomorrow" Janine perks up, "how about taking the Zimcrafts over the lake, maybe we

can go for a swim? I'm sure the healing cream will have worked over night, so your arm will be good as new tomorrow."

"Only if you are prepared to be beat by a poor injured girl at a swim race?" I laugh.

Janine gives me a cheeky smile, "you better not use your injury as an excuse when I win, and we all know what a sore loser you can be."

It would be nice to go out for the day, let today's events slip out of my mind. Wait, today's events, the symbol, a Muzz attempting to attack the Chancellor. I had forgotten all about how odd the attack was. What was that symbol for? Where did the Muzz get a Valiant's gun? I should speak to Isaac and Janine about this, to find out what they may know, we always talk to each other about things like this, but this time it feels different. It feels like no one should know about the symbol, like it's a forbidden thing to even think about, let alone speak aloud. I think this time it is best if I keep this one a secret. I do not particularly get excited and jump to the thought of how that small piece of graffiti can make me feel so nervous and encourage me to be secretive.

The sun is blazing through the thin lens of my helmet, I hadn't been out in the sun since last week's training session outdoors. Even then I didn't have a chance to take it in. It's nice to feel the sun beating down on me when I'm not sweating and out of breath. We aren't allowed to drive the Zimcrafts faster than 30 miles per hour, unless there is an emergency or an attack, but once the lake is in sight it's hard not to speed up. The lake is a beautiful deep blue, it reminds me of my mother's eyes. Out of the whole city, there is nothing more beautiful than the lake. I can spot Isaac up ahead, he is already taking his shoes and top off, and I can't help noticing how muscly he has gotten. He started the Valiant Squad a few months after me as I turned 16 before him, it's the first time I've seen him without a top on. His back is so defined, every inch of it tensing as he prepares to run and dive into the lake. He leaps in causing a massive splash, due to his immaturity he finds it hilarious that he splashed Janine's towel. Although I also try to hold back a giggle as a slightly raged Janine jumps in after him, splashing and flicking water aggressively at him.

"Want to play like that do you Isaac?", She says this with gritted teeth and a crazy look in her eye. If I didn't know Janine, I would have thought she was genuinely going to kill him. She continues to frantically chase him around the lake, diving and jumping at him every chance she gets.

I try to hide the fact that I am so nervous about taking off my top to swim. I have this birth mark on my back, I find it embarrassing. In the summer as a child I always used to get asked constant questions about it, even now years later I still feel so uncomfortable at the thought of people making fun of it. Although I know that I should be used to it, it is a part of me. Janine knows about it, she says I have nothing to worry about, but I don't want Isaac to not like me because of it. I wonder if Isaac has something that he dislikes about himself, possibly back hair or crooked toe. Isaac has noticed me staring blankly at him. He gives his famous smirk and beckons me to the water. Letting my worries of my birthmark fade away, I swiftly lift my orange top over my head, revealing my cream bra. I decide to casually throw my top to the side, for that adventurous look, and cannon ball into the water besides Janine. A wave of murky blue lake water sweeps over her head.

After 20 minutes or so of playfully splashing and diving on each other, we all begin to just relax, taking full advantage of the water. I imagine I'm soaking up the lake, letting it absorb into my body, cleansing my soul. It's not very often that I have a chance to let myself be calm. I gaze into the now multi-coloured sky as dusk is progressing. The swirls of baby pink, blood orange and murky blue warp into the fluffy white clouds like a giant blanket giving off a sheltered feeling. Sunsets here are very scarce due to the pollution left behind from the Defective Period decades ago. I let my eyes merge into the horizon's well-crafted masterpiece, and envision the days during institution hours. Specifically the Yesteryear lessons, in which we were taught of the troublesome days before there was order and a system to Blandarious.

Dexter had his large hand on my upper thigh underneath the shabby tables, he would do this often, it made me feel as though he was a hefty dense caveman, and I his prized slab of meat. I felt uncomfortable during lessons, as male and females were prohibited from any informal contact, conversing with the opposite sex is highly frowned upon during Institution hours, let alone touching one another. "3 points on the life card!" the trainer would bellow down the corridor in horror, leaving a ringing in the ears of anyone who was so unfortunate to be crossing their path at the time. Many would get caught pushing each other jokingly, then be given points for when they turn 18. Everyone gets given their life card at age 18, but before then, points can still be recorded for the day they turn 18. In some unfavourable cases, many of the 18-year-olds become a Muzz on day one, bad behaviour in Blandarious is not considered praise-worthy. It's a shame really that one's demeanour can play a big part in their lives, I assume this lack of management is due to poor parenting.

The trainer would explain all the various parts of the past which would eventually lead to the understanding of reasons behind Blandarious's current ways of living. Decades ago, centuries even, people believed in this thing called 'God'. Apparently 'God' was an all-knowing, loving and powerful man, although he wasn't quite a man. He lived in the clouds and watched over the world below, people would beg for this God to show mercy on the people, they would go on their knees, hands tightly clasped together pleading with him to take away the atrocious problems that occurred in the world. This God however would ignore those cries and continue to take kind people for death in the 'Heavens', which was the word for the skies in which God lived. This God was worshiped until the late 3700's, a long time ago now, what a dreadful thing for people to rely on an inanimate creature for so many centuries.