The Tattooed | Completed | ✔

Chapter One - Beginnings and Endings

"Tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul." -Michelle Delio

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Gwynnie! Get up or you'll be late for your first day at the Academy!" Hair fluttered across my nose, I fought the urge to sneeze.

"Sis! You're only fifteen once!" She sucked in her breathe, realizing what she said.

Like lighting, I reached out and grabbed my sister's waist, pulling her onto my bed.

"Now Staci Lynn, are you implying that I'm going to become one of those nasty and mean Tattooed?" She giggles and shook her head.

"That's what I thought. Now that you're so happy and excited about MY first day, how about you find me some nice school clothes?" Staci Lynn jumped from the bed leaving me there to stare at her as she starting pulling open my unpacked boxes.

"What about this?" She held out something pink and fluffy looking.

"How about no. Nothing pink or fluffy or too show-y." She started pouting but continued her search anyway. Leaving my bed, I headed to the attached Jack-and-Jill bathroom. Thankfully no one decided they wanted the other bedroom for anything and it was made into a guest room. Staci Lynn had pleaded I take her second-master room since my sixteenth birthday was in a week, she wanted me to have something to remember if I Escaped. My chances of becoming a Tattooed were at the higher end because our mother was a Tattooed and she met my father at an Escaped camp, she never told me his name.

Pulling away from my thoughts, I turned the shower on and quickly undressed. The water was cold, hitting my back and making the soreness of it become aparent. I wasn't sure if it was from nightmares or...

"Sis?" Staci Lynn knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yeah, almost done." I rushed the rest of my shower.

　

Leaving the new two-story house, the winter wind nipped at me. My step-father Kevin and his new bride Bethany decided we should move to a Providence in the north. It was to cold here in the winter. I pulled a small piece of paper from my pocket and re-read the directions on my hand-drawn map to my bus stop. It was just around the next "Uff.." I hit a 'wall' and landed on the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're go..ing."

Grabbing my map, I stood and brushed my jeans off.

"Sorry" I mumbled quickly, dusting my butt.

"No, no. It's was totally my fault. I shouldn't stand in the middle of the sidewalk like that." Lookibg up at the presumed wall, I was taken aback. I gapped.

"I'm Jessie." He laughed

"I'm...I'm Gwynnie...I mean Gwyneth." I stuttered out, my cheeks heating up.

"Nice to meet you uh...Gwyneth." Jessie chuckled

"You too." We started walking towards the bus stop at the end of the street.

Awkwardness filling the space between us.

"So, how old are you?" Jessie asked

"Fifteen, you?"

"I'll be sixteen tomorrow." He shifted feet ", but it's unlikely I'll fail my Checking. I'm not really all that scared, noone in my family is a Tattooed." I moved my gaze from his feet to his face, it radiated confidence. He beamed, his teeth were shiny and I focused on that. My social skills were bad and if I didn't focus on something, I'd have a panic attack.