Emblem of Fate

The pain tears you apart

Morgan might have just decked her pervert of a foster brother, but it wasn't the sting in her hand that had her grimacing in pain. It was the sudden blinding pain behind her ear that had her dropping to the floor, trying not to cry out. Ten agonizing minutes later she lurched to her feet, holding onto the wall for some semblance of balance as she staggered her way down the hall to the bathroom. It wasn't until she brushed her waist-length hair away from her tear-streaked face and turned her head a bit that she noticed the black outline of a four-leaf clover.

Maz was driving to her waitressing job when the sudden pain in her chest had her wrecking the rusted Yamaha bike she had scrimped and saved to buy. She lay on the road, clutching her chest as she tried to calm her breathing down enough to even do that properly. Not normally one to wear a helmet, she was thankful she did on this day, as otherwise, her dark red hair would have been scarlet for a different reason. Finally able to sit up, she unzipped the old leather jacket she had only gotten the week before at the thrift shop; pulling her shirt down enough to see the fresh, tattoo-like mark of a four-leaf clover nestled between her breasts. 

Lina's deep purple eyes were scanning the shelf of her after-school job at the library.  A customer had come in requesting a rare book, and while she tried explaining to them that she didn't think the library carried it, she nevertheless had to at least attempt to look for it. Her fingers skimmed along the bindings of the book, slowing down as she got closer to the decimal number where the book should have when a sudden stabbing pain had her yanking her hand to her chest, crying out at the feeling of a thousand needles invading her flesh. Her boss came running over, the matronly woman holding Lina close, trying to comfort the crying girl as the pain slowly ebbed away. Lifting the girl's hand gingerly, she turned it to and fro until Lina gasped, bringing her hand closer to herself and eyeing the small black clover tattoo that was now resting on the side of her ring finger.

The young girl woke up from a horrid nightmare, the scream bursting forth from her lips. No longer was she dreaming of the demons chasing her down; now she was frantically sitting up, shoving the blankets away from her in an effort to clutch her arm, the burning pain searing across her wrist as tears flowed down the teen's still chubby cheeks. Once the pain faded away, she glanced down and got the surprise of her life when she saw the black clover imprinted on her inner wrist.