Expiration Date | ✓

~CHAPTER 1

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"Nothing vast enters a life of mortals without a curse."

Maybe you have heard of that quote, Maybe not.
Maybe you haven't got a clue what it means, well you'll find out.

We call it The Population Project, TPP for short. It has become the most advanced technologies that we have built so far. On average your time is up when you reach about seventy to eighty years of your life. There is always the same amount of people in the society, not one more or one less.

For some of the odd few, like myself, are given the unfair disadvantage to the TPP. Our dates written in black bold ink are hidden from others who are living glorious long lives.

Our dates are what people see as a defect, a human error. We aren't good enough, we are outcasts.

Our dates are very short lived.

"Hey, I made you pancakes." The voice of my father gently said at the door of my room.

"Thank you." I say, hoping my eyes didn't give the hint I was crying. I took the late of freshly made pancakes, topped with maple syrup and blueberries. They were my favourite breakfast.

"It'll be okay, I'm here if you need me okay?" He says, looking at me sadly.

This time I don't argue how unfair this is. I don't cry into his arms for the tenth time this month. I sit on my bed and nod, completely emotionless on the outside. But I'm feeling every emotion on the inside to the point of exploding.

Once my father hovered at my door for a few more seconds before leaving, I turn back to look at my red arm which was raw with scratches over the black tattooed ink.

I shove a pancake in my mouth, enjoying my last breakfast on this earth.

Because tommorrow I'm supposed to die at the sweet age of seventeen.

When I do, another life will be able to be born into the society. Another family will be able to have their first child in my forced sacrifice.

The fourth of May.

The month I was named after. I have dreaded this day for seventeen years. I've always asked myself what was wrong with me? My father always said nothing was.

But it was something in my genes deeming me as not being pure like the rest of society.

As I hear the garage door opening I knew my father was leaving for work. He was a doctor, he is supposed to know everything. He was supposed to tell me why it was happening to me, why I'm different.

Yet, whenever I brought up why my expiration date was so short, he never gave me an answer.

That's something else. You don't know when, where or how you are going to die. I was hoping I would slip off in my sleep, I think anyone would want to choose that way.

"Damn thing." I murmer as my blueberry slipped off my plate, onto my bedroom floor.

I crawl out of my warm covers, bending over picking it up and placing back on the plate. Carrying my pancakes with me, I decided to go out into the TV room, in search for the remote.

TV and pancakes? Quite a boring way to start the last day of your life but here I am.

I switched on the TV expecting to find something worth watching, but instead all the morning shows where still going.

"Great." I whisper to myself, leaving it at channel nine as I decide to just continue eating.

Soon something caught my attention, I turned up the volume and watched the news cast that was playing. A woman in her sixties stood in a mid shot position in the camera, her eyes heavy with mascara. Her pale face paired with her blonde foiled bob that blew to the right as the wind passed through.

"The Trigg Society has finally realised their new vaccine for twenty more illnesses discovered this year. This vaccine will be mandatory when travelling, enrolling in schools, to receive full pay and upgrade to higher living. We need to protect society, protect ourselves." She leans forward, eyes fixed on the camera, "As of Tomorrow, the fourth of May, this vaccine will be treated to every child in schools without the need of parental permission. Your child attending school gives authoritys permission to take this life saving vaccine. For adults, they will visit the doctors in the next two weeks to receive theirs."

Usually I would scoff at this report, fuming about how permission is now being used. But instead I raise my eyebrows, praying to all those kids who have no choices. All those parents who now don't have a say.

Before I turned the TV off, the news reporter was captured in a close up shot of her face. You could see her makeup caked on for the cameras. For a moment her eyes shifted, her pupils briefly for only a second thinned into a cat-like eye. It could easily be overlooked or missed, but my eyes were fixated on hers.

"What the hell?" I murmer, trying to spot it again, wondering if it was a glitch.

Maybe I was just tired.

"Anyone who refuses this vaccine, child or adult, our authority's have permission to undergo use of force in order to protect our society. Back to Bill." The lady nods as the screen flickers to Bill in the studio.

Anyone who refuses?

Physical force?

Maybe I'm starting to think my Expiration was in my favour after all.