Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Write in the SCIENCE FICTION genre (05/10/07)
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TITLE: The Mark | Previous Challenge Entry
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05/15/07 -
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May 10, 2007
My day began at 6:30am like every other ordinary day with the annoying sound of my alarm.
I did the usual. I grabbed it, pressed snooze and then hid my alarm under the covers.
At 6:45 the alarm screamed at me, annoyingly insinuating that I must get up. After all, I made a promise to God that I would spend some early morning quiet time with Him.
As I sat in my rocking chair, gladly taking my first sip of coffee, I felt odd. I wasn’t sure exactly what was wrong. I just felt odd. Putting my feelings aside, I got down to business.
7:45 quickly rolled around and my son Ben strolled into the shower to begin his morning routine. Breakfast was eaten, the dog fed, and lunch ready to go. Off he went to school at 8:30.
“Have a great day and make good choices,” I told him as he headed up the driveway.
Most days I would walk the dog and then carry on with my “to do” list but I decided to get the shopping over with. With purse and shopping list in hand, I was off. Since it was a nice day and I lived only a short jaunt from town I decided to walk. Although the sun was shining, it was still a bit nippy.
The closer I got to town, the more I noticed a sense of panic. The town appeared busier than normal.
I needed to stop at the bank to grab some money before heading to the store. Upon entering the bank, a very upset man barged out, almost trampling me in the process.
“Hmm,” I said quietly.
I walked in and just as I pulled my wallet out, Jennifer, a long time bank teller, explained that none of the machines were working properly. They flashed a message.
“Debit cards not accepted, please push your right index finger on the arrow to start your banking transactions.”
“That’s odd,” I said.
“We’ve called our manager and he’s investigating the matter. All the machines across Canada seem to be doing the same thing.” She tried to sound calm and yet she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
I walked out bewildered. “Weird,” I thought. There was no way I was doing any such thing. I decided to get my groceries any way and use my credit card instead.
As I approached Lee Chang’s grocer, I encountered the same panic. People were mad and confused. There was a lot of yelling and obvious frustration. I noticed no one seemed to be leaving with any groceries.
“What is going on?” I said whispering to myself.
Panic started to penetrate me inside. No cash and now no groceries. I marched into Lee Chang’s with a sense of authority and headed straight for the cashier.
“What’s happening?” I asked with concern but also as gentle as I could.
“Well, when we total the customers grocery order, the screen flashes, telling us no cards are accepted and no cash is to be collected. The customer is directed to put their right index finger on the arrow to complete the purchase.” I could here the confusion in her voice.
I became frustrated and I felt my heart racing faster. Anger and fear were taking over.
“What Now?’ I say to her.
“My boss is checking into it and hopefully we’ll have this resolved in a few hours or sooner.”
I left. As I walked home the town got even busier and even more confused. Deep down, I felt my spirit telling me. “This is it. This is it! This is what you’ve been reading about. The pattern on your right index finger must be the mark.” What if there were people who had already tried this?
“Oh no,” I said abnormally loud and I began to panic.
A sense of urgency came over me like a thunderstorm rolling in unexpectedly. I needed to get my Bible and tell people, warn them. I went faster. Thinking that it may already be too late, sweat pooled on my forehead and ran down my back as I bolted for home.
As I met people on my way home I tried to tell them.
“Listen, listen, this is why, please listen.” But nobody stopped to listen to me. It was like I wasn’t even there.
Suddenly, my alarm screamed 7:45 and I sat straight up. I heard Ben.
“Time to get up mom.”
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