I died yesterday

Every child is born with their end already determined. I do not speak of fate. Every child is born with a date tattooed on their arm. This date is when they will die. I was born on the 19th of March, 2043. I am 22 years old today, on the 19th of March 2065. The date which was on my arm when I was born reads: 18/3/2065 . I was scheduled to die yesterday, but instead I am half way to the centre of the Earth.

Never, in the history of this world, has a death date been wrong. I am unique. But I don't know why. When I woke yesterday, I had planned so much to fill my day with, so that I would not regret anything I hadn't done. I didn't expect to do all I had planned, yet I did. I bungeed down the highest waterfall, I used a jet pack and even went to the Moon Resort, having booked a room just in case, by some miracle, I was permitted to die in my sleep. When I laid down last night, I did not believe that I would wake. I was content. I fell asleep surprisingly quickly and had a peaceful, dream-free sleep.

This morning, when I woke, I thought myself to be a ghost, or perhaps in an afterlife which mimicked the life I had known. There was only one way to find out. I had to contact someone who I knew would still be alive. I chose my sister. She was number one on my speed dial. I took my phone in my hand and called her. When she answered, it was clear she'd been crying. 

"Hello?" Her voice was muffled and shakey.

"This isn't a hoax. This isn't anything digital. I have three words for you, sis. I'm not dead."

She screamed and cried and yelled down the phone.

"YOU ARE SICK!! HOW COULD YOU BE SO INSENSITIVE? I JUST LOST MY SISTER AND TODAY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HER BIRTHDAY!!"

"I know Amy. I can't believe it either. I'm 22. My death must have been a miss-print."

She fell silent. I'm not sure how much time passed before she spoke again.

"So...you mean...but...it really is you?"

"Yes. It really is me."

She began to quiz me on so many things. How was I feeling?, where was I now?, what was the moon like?, has my tattoo disappeared?, was it true that they had installed artificial gravity?, what would I do now?

My answers were as follows: fine, in my hotel room, spacey, no, yes, find out why I was not dead.

I returned to Earth, wearing long sleeves to cover my out of date tattoo, despite the summer weather whishores.. finally graced Britain's shores.

Carefully planning my every move, I decided that the best place to start my search for answers was, in fact London.

When I had taken my three busses, two trains, a replacement bus service, a taxi and two tube journeys, I had no idea where in London, exactly, that I wanted to go. 

After wandering aimlessly around for three hours, I became desperate. I lost it. I collared the nearest policeman, literally pushing him against the wall, yanking up my sleeve I began to yell in his face.

"DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? I WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE YESTERDAY! BUT LOOK AT ME!", I let him go, raising my arms and spinning twice in a circle, "I'M STILL HERE!!" 

I hadn't noticed the officer call for back up. I hadn't noticed them surround me. That is, I didn't notice until the buzz and ache of a stun gun hit my back, forcing my muscles to contract and relax repeatedly in a manner making it impossible to stand. I went down like a sack of potatoes.

I don't remember much after that. I remember the crowd, the noise, the muttering and murmurs of conspiracy. I remember the blindfold. I remember being bundled into the back of some mind of vehicle. Then nothing.

I regained consciousness in a tiny metal cell. It must have been about four foot cubed. I could hardly see to the end of my nose. With no way to pass the time, or to count it, I have no idea how long I was in there for. I assume it was an hour or two.

All of a sudden the wall in front of me swung away to the right and a hand grabbed my ankle, yanking me out by my foot. The light dazzled me, but soon I saw my sister's face swimming in front of me. I stood and looked around. We were in a long corridor with doors  stacked two high, presumably behind each was a holding cell like mine. I was in cell 249, or at least, that's what it said on the door that Amy swung shut behind me.

"Follow me." 

I didn't need to be told twice. Besides, she was my sister, I would have followed her to hell and back if she asked. And, as it turned out, I would. Or, at least, follow her there.

Amy lead me through a maze of metal lined corridors. Up the stairs, turn right, take the second left, down three flights of stairs, turn left, down again, turn right and up another flight of stairs. Finally she opened a full size door into a large hall. We entered and walked half way across the room together before she turned to me.

"You know what I do for a living, Catherine. You know that I work for the government. For the Dates Division. You always have. But now it's time you learned exactly what that means." 

In the distance I heard doors banging.

I remained silent.

"It is my job to determine the length of time someone will live for. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't choose when they die. I merely figure out when they will. It's complicated science, but for some cases, it is possible to know exactly where they will die. You are one of them. Believe me, I'm trying to save you.

When you called me this morning, I was crying, yes?" 

I nodded.

"We stand half way to the centre of the Earth. I always hoped that we could avoid this. I'm so sorry for what is to come."

"What do you mean? Amy, what's going on?"

Here I stand, still waiting for the answer.

The crashing of doors is louder now.

She runs her hand through her hair and sighs. For the first time in her life, Amy looks old. The weight of her job and possibly the realisation of the situation shows on her face.

"I'm sorry baby sister." She's almost whispering now. "I truely am. But you gave us no choice. When you called me this morning, I realised that you were my responsibility. I realised that you would die at your time, but not when you thought was your time. You think your time was yesterday, but it is not. It is today."

The doors are truely deafening now.

"The sounds you here are the executioners. They are saved for special cases. Yours is very special. I suppose you could call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you hadn't been told you would die yesterday, you wouldn't have outlived your date, you wouldn't have gone mad in London, I wouldn't have been called down here to deal with you and you wouldn't die today, on your assigned date."

"Amy, I'm so confused. My date was yesterday. I can live forever now."

"No you can't. I'm so sorry." Tears are now rolling down her face. "I'm so sorry. I hoped we could outrun them."

Another deafening door.

"But we now stand halfway to the centre of the Earth. Gravity here is so much stronger. Everything moves more slowly. Even time."

The final and loudest door opens. The firing squad enter the hall where Amy and I are standing. She is bent double in a silent scream, her face coated in water.

"Which...means..." She can't Finnish the sentence. But I know what it means.

Amy falls to her knees as I turn to the firing squad.

I raise my voice as loud as I can.

"WHICH MEANS THAT TODAY IS STILL THE 18TH OF MARCH! TODAY IS MY DEATH DAY!"

I can hear Amy sobbing and three of the men raise their weapons to me. I am vaguely aware of my sister pleading with them, but they simultaneously fire on me. A white hot agony lights up in my chest in three places. It burns as I fall and I hear Amy's cries. 

I am splayed, broken, on the cold hard floor, my sister crawling to me, calling my name, asking for forgiveness, begging me to say I still love her.

I have so little strength remaining, I decide to place it all on words. To tell Amy that I do still love her.

"Amy..." I pant "so hard...talk.........I don't...blame...you. I'm...sorry. And I do...still..."

...