Impure

The Chapel

I'm sitting in the same gold cushioned chair I've sat since I was born. Up on the stage, facing the rest of the congregation. The Chapel has always been full. With 15,000 pair of eyes looking at me, 15,000 pure members; 15,000 believers of The Truth. There are Chapel's all around the world, depending on the size of the country, there may be more than one Chapel per country. Each Chapel has been passed down from generations to generations to the founding families of each Chapel. The Chapel and the belief of The Truth began around the 1950's, when the religiously high powered became rulers of each country and created The Truth; the belief  that purity is power and being weak leads to death.

The Pure, are considered anyone who attends, participates and donates in the Chapel. That, and a life without any of the 10 deathly marks. A life without weakness. In order to separate the pure from the impure, these 10 deathly marks were created.

1. The mark of adultery: the King of Hearts card, the Queen of Hearts card and a Joker card in the middle.

This one is located in the left forearm, right after the wrist.

2. The mark of fornication: a butterfly in the center of the abdomen.

Fornication meaning sex outside of marriage.

3. The mark of lies: arrows pointing opposite directions usually in the neck area.

4. The mark of addiction: a repetitive line that circles your right forearm.

5. The mark of jealousy: burning fire on the collarbone.

6. The mark of non-believer: backwards cross in the middle of the chest.

7. The mark of homicide: a dagger on the left bicep.

8. The mark of robbery:
A lock on the right bicep.

9. The mark of immorality: a backwards tree that takes the entire area of your back.

10. The mark of forbidden love: the sun and the moon on each side of the lower abdomen.

An ink, mostly known as the burning oil, is injected in our bodies the day we are born. It will not activate its effect until your thirteenth birthday. Everyone is obligated to attend the Chapel until they reach the age of thirteen. After that, the person is capable pf deciding which live they want to pursue; pure or impure. You are exposed to the horrible torture of the ink if you act upon any of the 10 deathly marks. Every mark has a designated area, it starts out small, but it grows every time you surrender to it. Depending on which you act upon, the ink will release the specific symbol of the mark  and burn your skin until it feels like a fire needle is tattooing the mark.

The Eyes are in charge of detecting who is no longer pure. They are constantly watching over each member and they can easily detect any change in their attitudes. My mother, Deborah Armor, is the leader of The Eyes. As members of the founding family, we all must take charge of the activities of the Chapel. My older brother Luke Armor, is the youth teacher, he is in charge of teaching anyone under thirteen the importance of a pure lifestyle. Luke, as the eldest son of the Key, is also the heir of this position.

As the service ends, we all stand up and unanimously move our right hand,first to the head, then chest, left, right and mouth. I walk to the door at the left side of the stage, walking through the private hallway and I reach the bathroom to check on my appearance. As the leader of The Beauties, I must maintain the image of purity.Flawless face and naturally beautiful; beauty that does not provoke jealousy, but instead, inspires purity. My skin color is slightly tan, my eyes are chocolate colored and my hair is chestnut brown and straight, reaching down almost to my waist. I recently added some fringe to frame my face. In order to maintain a good figure, I must also keep up a healthy diet and daily exercise.

With one last look in the mirror, I slightly brush my hair until  no baby hairs are standing up. Perfect.

I walk over to the parking lot. Today, The Beauties are volunteering at Blue Waters, one of the marked ones areas. Today we are giving boxes of food for each family. Usually, marked ones areas are much less fortunate then our areas. And as Beauties, we want to inspire in this locations and help the marked families of kids that still attend the Chapel.

When I arrive, our security has already prepared the area and I see the Beauties setting everything up. The line is already starting to form and now that I have arrived it's time to begin distributing the boxes. I stand at the beginning of the line, right after the security scan area. With my clipboard in hand, I verify the list of families as they approach to grab their box. Megan is next to me making sure everyone gets the right amount. The process usually flows perfectly. I know each one of the families and I know almost every person by name. That's why when my eyes land on a tall, broad shouldered, long, messy, brown haired boy I can't help but follow him with my gaze. I notice his white V-neck is practically see through, and he is covered in marks everywhere, more than the 10 designated marks.

I  stare at him.

He definitely did not grow up here. He seems around my age, maybe a bit older, but he would of been obligated to attend the Chapel as a kid, and I would of remembered. He passes through security and stands behind the Gaston's family. And that's when his eyes...his mismatched, one green, one blue, eyes land on mine.

I can't look away.

To anyone that reads this, please let me know what you think of the story. It's the first thing I've ever written but I can assure you the plot has lots of potential and I have some really good stuff in mind. Thank you for checking this out! Much love, Nicole.