The Marked

Chapter 1

Soldiers ran in my direction at full speed, their jet black boots pounding on the ground. There were about five in total, all men, and had on shiny, metal suits that could protect them from bullets, fire, and any other dangerous things they might encounter. They were also wearing helmets, behind them were hard, bruiting and emotionless faces that seemed to show no weaknesses. With a jolt of panic, I realized that they must have found out about me. I stepped to the side expecting them to do the same and charge at me with full force, but instead, they ran right past me, my face changing from fright to surprise as they did so. I looked back to see what they were doing and was horrified to find them cornering a boy around the age of 10. He had a look of pure terror on his face as he took several steps backward, stumbling with fear while the soldiers cornered him. The boy was pinned against a wall, and at that moment I knew there was no hope for him.

A little bit away from the boy there was a woman that I assumed was his mother, screaming and sobbing as one of the soldiers held her back. She fought with all her might, kicking and punching but he was too strong. Tears streamed down her face as she realized that she was never going to see her son again.

I watched, eyes wide as they dragged the boy away into a nearby truck. It looked like it was built for someone much more powerful than a crying little boy. It was huge, made of steel and had their logo painted in faded red paint on the side. It was a picture of a scientist holding the hand of a person with water coming out of their other hand and had 'The District' next to it, printed in big bold letters. They were both smiling like best friends. They made it seem like they were all working together, but I knew the truth. That the District not only captures the people like in the logo but tortures and experiments on them to try and find out how they got their powers. And not so that they can put it to good use and help people, they do it so they can steal their powers, and weaponize them. Because those people can do extraordinary things, things like turn into animals or cause huge thunderstorms. Those people are called Marked. I've only met one Marked in my life, but they're everywhere. They're just hiding, hiding from The District.

Most people think that the District is just another lab trying to help the world, but everyone is shielded from the truth. And Marked all over the world are losing their lives every day because of it. Is this really what our world has become? Taking children to the district so they can be experimented on just because they're different? My hands balled up into fists at my side, angered at the thought of it.

I started walking away once the truck had driven off. I glanced behind my shoulder to see the little boy's mother on the ground. She looked frail and alone, a shell of a woman. Her body shook with loud sobs. I fought against the urge to go over to her and comfort her, but I knew it would draw attention to myself so I put my hood on and slowly continued walking away.

My feet guided me to a little shop in town. It was nothing special. Small, around the size of a cottage and the type of place that you don't notice unless you're looking for it because it looked so bland and blended right in with its surroundings. It seemed to be very old, with the once bright red of the bricks faded and crumbling.

Stepping up to the front of the shop, I opened the door with a loud creak and stepped inside; the bell attached to the door handle ringed softly signaling a new customer entering. I walked straight over to the counter and was met with a smile coming from a small, elderly woman. The woman was around 60 with many wrinkles and blazing red eyes you could tell held decades of wisdom. A cloak made from purple velvet fabric hung delicately on her shoulders, hiding gray curls of thin, stringy hair.

"Hello Rose," I said. She smiled and in response asked me what I would like to buy, even though I'm positive she already knew. I've been coming to Rose for a while now and only purchased one thing. I rose my eyebrow at her as if saying 'really,' before she nodded and walked out from behind her counter. She shuffled slowly over to the back of the shop before disappearing behind a wooden door with a crescent moon carved on it. She emerged a few moments later with something tucked beneath her cloak, hidden from sight.

A small smile started to form on the corner of my lips, happy at her having found the item I was looking for. Rose restocks her product at the beginning of the week and since it was a Friday I was worried she wouldn't have what I was looking for.

           She slowly moved back behind her counter and began to type something in her ancient cash register. I always tell her to replace the thing but she tells me it has "too many memories" to just throw away. My reply is always to just laugh and shrug.

          "That'll be 50 dollars and 24 cents," Rose stated. I reached inside the soft folds of my pocket and grasped at the familiar paper dollars before pulling them out. I counted the correct amount and handed it to Rose. She tried to push the button on the cash register to open it but nothing happened. Rose muttered something before banging on it. After a couple of hits and shakes to the register, it finally opened with a soft 'ding' and Rose put in my money.

She glanced around the shop and out the windows, seeing if anyone was watching before she slowly pulled out my item. It was a long, skin colored cloth that resembled bandages, and could be mistaken for one if the person didn't know what it really was. The only difference between the two is that this cloth is made from a completely different material. This is creamy and silky. It was light as air and felt as if it would melt in your hand if it held it for too long.

I reached my arm out to grab the cloth before Rose pulled it back right before my fingers could grasp it.

"Hey Lauren," she started. "Try not to get into any trouble ok?" My face broke into a smile and I replied, "of course, I'm ashamed you even have to ask." I reached out again, this time grabbing the cloth before I stuffed it into my pocket and headed for the door. I pushed it open, the familiar ding sounding from the bells on the handle and before I left I turned around and bid Rose a goodbye.

"Bye Lauren, see you soon," and with that, I stepped out onto the cobblestone porch and started to walk home.

~~~

I plopped down onto my couch, the familiar fabric of the cushions underneath me making me feel automatically comfortable and safe. I stretched out my arm to grasp the remote sitting on my brown coffee table before clicking the soft button to turn on the tv. After a while browsing through different channels, I finally settle on a cooking show. Once I decided on my show of choice, I pulled a blanket on top of me before snuggling into my couch and letting out a content sigh that I was finally able to relax. 

Today was my day off from the restaurant where I work and I since it's only 2:00 I decided to take this opportunity to take a short nap so I was refreshed and could go grocery shopping with a clear mind when I woke up. After watching the girl on the show chop vegetables and saute them, before adding them to her noodles and mixing them all around, my eyelids started to get heavy and I drifted off to sleep. 

I slowly stirred and before I could think about what time it is or how long I actually slept, a loud banging sounded from my front door. Groaning, I sat up before dragging myself up from my all too comfortable couch and slowly walked over to my door. If I was fully awake I might of thought about how I probably looked like I just got hit by a truck but that thought never crossed my mind as I gripped the cool metal of my doorknob and turned it, opening my door. 

I immediately sobered up like an ice cold bucket of water was dumped on my head as my sleepiness turned to terror in an instant. As I tried to rack my mind to answer the million questions plaguing me, I could only focus on one thought: 'they found me.'

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Hey, guys. What did you think of the first chapter? If you don't know, I wrote this book about a year ago and now I'm completely rewriting it so I hope you like it so far. Uploads might be kinda slow and I'm sorry but I'll try to update it as much as possible around my schedule of school and volleyball. Please vote if you did like it and comment any suggestions or constructive criticism you have, I appreciate all you have as long as they're not rude. Also, if you can please share this story with your friends, I'd greatly appreciate it. 

-Jada

(889 words)
(After rewriting: 1632 words)