The bright lights blinded me as the tattoo gun went off, pain filled my forearm. Another one sounded across the way, my wife not whining like I was. It felt like an eternity to have this tattoo done when it was an hour and a half. I rose from the chair and put my arms out to balance myself. My eyes fell onto my newly marked arm. Beautiful watercolor was in the iris rather than a regular eye color, dainty eyelashes where they normally were, and a hint of pigment on the eyelid just how I wanted it. We walked out of the tattoo parlour hand in hand and made it to the government provided car. The man who monitored us was already seated in the passenger seat.

“Was that so bad, Scarlet?” Melanie said to me, my eyes fluttered as I got closer to fainting. She gripped my arm in anticipation of the blackout.

Right after she said that, my body collapsed and my vision went black. I later woke up in the comfort of my own home, my body resting on our ratty couch. Melanie stood in the doorway, watching me. 

“Glad you could return to reality, sleepy head.”

“I wasn’t sleeping, I passed out. There is such a big difference there.”

“Scar, it’s basically the same thing. While you slept, I scheduled our appointment to get our cameras implanted.” My body rose slowly and I shook my head slowly. 

“And when is that? ”

“Tomorrow at ten.”

“AM?”

“No, we’re getting them done in a late night surgeon’s office session” A small giggle comes from her before a small snort.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. It’s in the AM, I wanted to make sure it was before you go to work.” My hand went up and pushed my hair back. A sigh emerged from my lips. Melanie’s face fell into a small frown

“I can’t do that, honey. I want to get it in at some point but I don’t want to risk it falling out. Do you get what I mean?” Melanie’s eyes look down and she nods her head. Mel walked out and into the kitchen. Tapping could be heard followed by a small amount of chatter. Melanie appeared back in the doorway quicker than she left.

“Okay, I rescheduled the procedure for this weekend. Is that alright with you and your schedule?” I nod with a small thank you towards her. She didn’t understand the risk that came with going right to work after a procedure of any kind. I don’t want her to get suspicious and then have the fuzz after me because I know I won’t win. No one ever wins against the fuzz. The whistles from outside sounded which signaled that we were to tune into the government’s radio program. Same as always, only the most exciting and happy news came out of the tiny box. The best lies the government could think of so that the people felt safe, they felt like they could finally trust someone who wouldn’t tell them lies. It talked of how the inflation was going down, jobs were increasing, blah blah blah the same stuff. But no one ever notices that they say the same exact things, just worded differently. I was too tired to deal with it, so with a small goodnight from Melanie I shuffled up the steps. My body flopped itself onto the bed upstairs and I fell asleep quickly.

I heard the buzzing of the tattoo gun again, but this time there was worse pain than before. It felt like my skin was being ripped apart, like being pulled strongly off my bones. I looked over to see the government official who was with us at the time of the tattoo session.

“Just making sure that you were getting your requirement. I thought I should do it since I’m the one who makes the calls.”

“Y-you didn’t even tattoo my arm, YOU CARVED INTO IT!”

“Oh I did? Well I am only a beginner.” He then smiled in a very creepy manner. I jumped up with my heart about to explode. I looked over to see my wife sleeping beside me, she was calm like a resting child. Darkness flooded my vision as my eyelids closed and I resumed the peaceful state I was in once before. Sunlight streamed into my window when the morning had come. This morning felt different, it was not the sickness but rather a set of thoughts in my head. 

“I can’t do this.” I murmured to myself after my feet hit the ground. My head pounded, I felt dizzy and just overall wasn’t alright. All the thoughts stopped as I heard a familiar noise from downstairs.

“Scar? Are you alright up there?” I shook my head to get my thoughts back together. Footsteps sounded as I continued down to the first floor.

“I’m fine, do not worry. Just feeling a bit out zoned out today.”

“Alright, it’s just I worry about you.” My eyes met hers and I got a sense of how she felt. She had a bit of a worried look on her visage mixed with a look of suspicion. I flashed a smile in her direction as I continued down the steps. We had a small breakfast before I set off to work. My tattoo now with a glossy overlay because of the wrap for it to heal. I came into work with a million “congratulations” in order and the occasional “can I see it?” but I didn’t want to talk about it. I felt dizzy, I wanted to fall over and pass out. Before going to my normal work station, I ducked into the bathroom and curled up in a ball in the corner. My hand gripped my hair as I stared at the ground. I heard a small buzz sounded and it alerted me in such a bad way. I looked around, on my feet, underneath at the door, all around for a small bug until I came in contact with a camera focused on me. A camera in the bathroom? Isn’t that an invasion of privacy? The realization hit me, I stood up and slammed the stall door open. I was going lightheaded once again. I stumbled to the exit when a man approached me.

“Scarlet? Are you feeling ill?”

“Just a little bit, I think I’m going to go home a bit early. I don’t want to risk an injury on the job.”

“But you didn’t even work today, I saw you stumble into the bathroom.” The receptionist looked over at us and shot him a look.

“Steven, let her go home if she is feeling ill. She just got her tattoo yesterday so it might be blood loss from scabs.” The man’s eyes met back with mine and moved out of my way. My boots were the last thing I heard while I walked out of the building. I looked out to the world around me and I started to sprint off into the distance with no warning or thought. My feet softly hit the grass as my hair flowed behind me. The trees softly rustled as I entered a dense forest. Voices, who were clearly looking for me, were heard as they couldn’t pinpoint me. I was safe in the moment,  my exploration took me farther than my entrance point. As I trekked to the center, I heard more voices. They were happy, cheerful, a hint of carefree. Was this a trap? Was I about to be killed? I didn’t know until I kept getting closer to the area. I moved among the trees to the center to find a bunch of people talking around fires. They looked safe and friendly so I strutted a little to where some of them sat. Their heads came up to look at me.

“Um ...hello there. I’m Scarlet and I don’t know where I am.” They looked down at my arm and then I hid it behind me.

“It’s government scum, kill her!” Everyone then charged at me, weapons drawn. I really wish I would’ve kept my suspicions to myself.