Beep. Beep. Beep. My alarm clock startled me awake as it always does. Today, however, was different. I shouldn’t have woken up. I stare at the small, delicate tattoo on the underside of my wrist. 7/4/2087. I glance over at the alarm clock and the numbers 7/5/2087 glare back at me. I was supposed to die yesterday. At the end of the day I figured I would just die in my sleep. It’s a rare but graceful way to be taken and I was thankful for it. Apparently that was not the case though.

    I had never heard of anyone else dying late. The system was far too advanced and accurate for a mistake like this. My head was spinning uncontrollably and I didn’t know what else to do. Everyone expected me to be dead, no one would be looking for me. Except for him. Someone from the government always came to get the bodies the day after a person was proposed to die. Even if a tragic accident had killed them, they appeared with incredible speed and scooped up the body.

    They would still try to save them of course, but not everyone made it. Everyone only has a set amount of time on this earth, and they can only try to make the best of it. I’m grateful that we are given tattoos at birth to tell us when our last day is. In the textbooks at school they always told us about people in old times. They were just born and they didn’t have tattoos. They had no idea when they were going to die so they couldn’t make the most of their lives. Some people would be taken early and everyone close to them would be grief stricken. Others would be taken too late in their lives and they killed themselves because they lost their sense of purpose.
That was over 50 years ago though. Now the world is a much better place. We have time to cope with death and we can plan out exactly what we want to do before we die. In addition, the last two weeks of our lives we are allowed to leave our jobs if we’d like, and we are relieved of all our responsibilities so that we can do anything we want. Some people travel the world in their last weeks, others make a name for themselves to be remembered by. I didn’t see it necessary to do either. I sat on the beach for two weeks, sitting and watching people. I read a few books and slept a little bit. I didn’t have many close friends, so I was alone for the most part. And that’s the way I liked it. Or so I thought. Now that I was supposed to be dead I felt more alone than ever and I couldn’t stand it. What on earth should I do. I didn’t really want to die, I had just accepted it because I had no choice.

I threw my covers to the side and swung my legs over the side of my bed. Normally I would brush my hair and put on my makeup in the morning and rush out of the house, but it didn’t matter anymore since no one could see me anyway. Suddenly, I become aware of someone watching me. I turn towards the darkest corner of my bedroom where an official looking man hovers.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I scream, pulling my blankets up over my body, as if the thin cotton could serve as a protection to me.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” The man says, walking slowly out of the shadows. “No one can know that either of us are here. You’re supposed to be dead and,”

“How do you know that?” I shout angrily.

“Because. I was supposed to kill you.” He holds out his government badge for me to look at. I keep my hands curled up in my lap. After a minute he draws his hand back and puts his badge away. He takes another step forward.

“May I sit?” He asks pointing to the chair across from my bed.
“Sure.” I reply reluctantly.

“My name is Mark. I was hired by the government when I was only fourteen, after both of my parents died. Over the years I discovered things I wished  I had never known. Including the reason why I am here. That date on your wrist,” He says pointing to my arm. “it’s just randomized. No one could ever predict when everyone dies. But if everyone has a specific day they are supposed to die, it can be carried out. You weren’t supposed to die yesterday Lizzy, I was supposed to kill you.”

I stare in shock, hardly able to comprehend what I have just been told. My head is filled with so many questions I don’t know where to begin.

“But where… How did you... Why didn’t you kill me?” I finally manage to get out between breaths.

“Well for starters, I’m no murderer. But there’s more. The government sends us to watch the person we’re killing for the last two weeks to figure out how to kill them discreetly. Watching you on the beach, I’ll admit I’ve grown somewhat fond of you. I couldn’t bear to do it. But there are consequences for my actions that we both need to deal with now. We need to get out of here.”

“And go where?” I ask agitated. “I’m supposed to be dead, I have nowhere to go.”

“There’s a community up in the mountains of people who found out what the government was doing. They’re trying to get as many people as they can. When we’re ready, we’re going to take down the government. And I think both of us can help with the planning. I know you’re smart, and I have a lot of inside knowledge of the government. What do you say?”

My heart is still beating uncontrollably and I realize I’ve been rocking back and forth in my bed. I look up and nod my head. What other choice do I have anyway?
“I’m in.”