Rage Within

Rage Within

I sat back in the old, torn barber shop style chair taking deep breaths. The whir of the tattoo machine reminding me of the pain that was about to begin. I felt the trace paper removed slowly and carefully from my left upper arm area and I close my eyes hoping that will help. The needle makes contact with my skin and my eyes fly open in panic but I know this is only the first thirty seconds of a long 4.5 hour ordeal. The tattoo was standard for anyone who wished to attend college. A bull, about six inches long, its horns up and to the right, its left hoof flexed, its body prepared to wage war. This was required of all attendees and I knew this would be worth it to be able to provide for my sick mother and younger brother.

I also had heard the rumors that sometimes these “raging bulls” would develop characteristics that the tattoo did not include. Every century after the Great War of 2023 the tattoo would accidentally expose the tattooed as having latent powers. The history books said they were, “earth shattering” and could easily end the world as we knew it. Something about the ink used would mingle with the wearer’s natural abilities and the tattoo would change. Seemed like a bunch of bullshit to me. Another way to have citizens watching over each other. A skin tag or stretch mark became a reason for someone to call the council and report an abnormality. The wearer would be dragged into custody by the Magi and be lost for hours, possibly days all to find out that the wearer lost a few pounds causing the tattoo to lose its original shape. I had seen this happen so many times just this year. It was getting ridiculous.

I stood from the chair, tears rolling down my eyes, my face red from frustration but knowing the worst was over. I moved past the line that was formed, moving carefully to avoid an accidental contact with the offended skin. I did not want to waste any time so I headed to the nearest library to pick up my standard issue hoodie. I was a 4x so I said a small prayer that they had my size, if not things were going to be very uncomfortable for me this year. I came into the small, bright store and saw a young woman behind the counter. I didn’t feel like looking around and went straight to her. I told her my size in a low tone and would be forever grateful that she did not feel the need to repeat it loudly. She quickly bent down, pulled a large aqua colored hoodie from the box below. I pulled up my left sleeve where I had just gotten the tattoo, she nodded, handed me the hoodie and scanned the tattoo. There was a beeping noise and I stood wide eyed as the cash register showed paid. I hadn’t realized they were putting pay chips in the ink as well. I closed my mouth. There was no point in yelling at her, she was just doing her job but I was pissed. They never told any of us about this new development. I guess administration had better things to do? I turned quickly after nodding back to her and left the store. I needed to avoid the crowds. I was suddenly not feeling great and needed to get home. I stood at the bus stop and gingerly began looping the aqua hoodie over my left arm. Once it was on I quickly put it on the rest of the way and flipped the hoodie up. Immediately a screen flicked on showing me my class schedule, teacher names, and a map of the campus so I could find my classes. I was finding I had a really hard time focusing on my class locations so I flipped my hoodie down and the screen disappeared. I only had to wait a few minutes for the bus and soon found myself at my front door. I entered my home and felt a heaviness come over me that I had only felt once before when I had contracted a slight fever. I immediately went to my bed, laid down and slept.

I awoke later that evening feeling nauseous and dizzy. I almost did not make it to my bathroom before I threw up. I was covered in sweat and had the chills. Once I felt that I could move again without a physical reaction I hurried and took a shower. I felt a tiny bit better, changed my clothes and put my hoodie back on. It looked like I had around a week before my classes started and the hoodie had already downloaded all my reading materials. I laid back down trying to figure out where the sickness could have been coming from. There was no way it was from the tattoo. But that was the only thing that had changed in the last 24 hours. Pulling off my hoodie, then my t-shirt sleeve I saw it and my stomach dropped for a different reason. Under the right foot of my bull a small brown rock had formed. I knew for a fact it hadn’t been there before because the tattoo was done in gray, black, and whites and this rock was the color of my skin, a small chocolate rock. I moved quickly to my bathroom mirror to get a better look and by the time I got there a second rock had began forming behind the bull. This was beyond unbelievable I had to talk to someone that I could trust about this. If anyone found out about this “instances” that had appeared the consequences could be dire. As if reading my mind my best friend rang through the comm cube in my bedroom. I almost missed the call in my panic but quickly picked it up and tapped the sides. Her perfectly round brown face illuminated the space above the cube and she was bouncing as she smiled. She must have just finished getting her bull. “Ikea!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Yea Circuit?” I couldn’t muster a smile with the amount of adrenaline flowing through me. “Ikea, we are going to the party tonight right? That hottie Vipe will be there! He told me he tried to talk to you after you got your bull but you ran out of the door.” “Oh yea I just wanted to get to the hoodie shop before they ran out of my size. I definitely want to see him.” Her energy always had a calming effect but I knew I would need to tell her tonight about my changes. “Hey Ikea? You ok? You look like you have seen a ghost or something?” “Yea Cir I’m good. I just really need to talk to you tonight. What’s the dress code for this gathering?” “Yea we will talk tonight. I still have to get my hoodie and then meet my mom after work. And the dress code? It’s easy! Your hoodie! I will send a comm when I’m on the way over to pick you up!” “Ok I will see you in a few hours. I’m going to lay down and try to get some sleep before we leave.” We disconnected and I set an alarm on my comm cube, laid down, and quickly went back to sleep.

My room buzzed red and I was getting a proximity warning that Circuit was close. I wasn’t soaked in sweat but just extremely tired again. I put my hoodie on shut off the lights in my apartment and waited outside for her transport to arrive. The party was only a few minutes away from me but high in the hills, it was beautiful and serene. We stepped out of the transport and we were met by the beautiful smile of Vipe. Oh my god, Circuit did not tell me we were going to his house, and we were one of the first people there! He smiled widely and I felt like I was going to throw up again. He hugged me deeply in greeting which was wonderful. We had known each other for around 2 years but this was the first time he had expressed any type of romantic interest. I looked at him sheepishly leaning against his tall, lean frame, his kind brown eyes staring into mine. I couldn’t speak again as another wave of nauseous hit me. I croaked out weakly, “Where is your bathroom?” His eyes turned concerned as did Circuit. She didn’t even have time to make fun of our warm embrace. He moved quickly with his arms still around me half dragging me to the guest bathroom. I closed the door and threw up again and again. I washed out my mouth and felt much better than I had felt all day. I turned around opened the door and Vipe had taken his aqua hoodie off and moved towards me. “Thanks, I feel much better now. I’m so embarrassed!” I reached up towards him as he hugged me again, my finger tips brushing his fresh tattoo. He flinched slightly and adjusted his t-shirt. That’s when I saw it, his bull had water around its feet. I pulled my hoodie off and pulled up my t-shirt. His eyes went wide when he saw the rocks that formed on my bull. Instinctively I touched it, instantly our eyes rolled back into our heads and we dropped to the ground. We woke up to Circuit and his best friend Niter calling our names. We sat up and the earth began shaking uncontrollably and water gushed from the nearby hills. Mud slides began to spill down the hills to the houses below. The mud slides were over as quickly as they begun but we all just looked at each other. So this is why we were never told of what would happen if elementals got together. Natural disasters would occur. Vipe and I held each other careful to avoid contact with the other’s tattoo. We didn’t want to cause anymore harm. We stood and without thought I kissed Vipe gently and laid my head on his chest. We all stood in silence not knowing what to do next when one of the people who were invited flew into the house and almost hit us with the door. It was Roku who I knew was one of Vipe’s friends. “Oh guys! Its terrible out there right now! What is going on? People’s cars are buried in mud!” We all looked at each other scared but Roku didn’t read the room. He removed his hoodie and tried to brush off some of the mud that had caked onto his jeans. He looked up seeing all of us still quiet and naturally not knowing who I was reached his hand out in greeting. “Ikea? I have heard a lot about you! Vipe was hyped you were coming tonight!” His smile was kind and he had no clue what we had just accidentally initiated so I reached out to shake his hand. I was still a bit dizzy from the influx of power so I touched the tattoo on his left shoulder instead. He winced and that’s when I saw his bull had beautiful flames behind it. We made eye contact, felt the power surge again as I turned to Vipe, “Oh shit.” al