He had to hurry, for he knew his time was short. If he didn’t get the marking he would not receive a number, and without a number there is nothing for you in this world. The number was everything, it gave you the rights to sell, buy and trade. And without those rights, there is no way that anyone could survive.


The boy ran as fast as he could to the stadium, there was not much time left. He got to the door and stopped to catch his breath. “I made it.” He said to him self. He opened the door and walked to the counter.


A woman looked at him and asked, “Name, age, and birthing card.” Her number was on her forehead, it read “467”. She had a single horn bulging from her chin, it curved slightly up ward to a point. “Name, age, and birthing card Sir.” The woman’s voice had a tone of hate in it as here face turned slightly red.


“Oh right.” The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chip. He held the chip in his hand for a second tightening his hand around it and then held you’re his hand giving it to the woman. She reached out and took the chip with her long sharp nails. “My name is Billy Tamerun. And I’m 18.” He put his hands into his pockets and looked at the woman.


“Ok everything checks out to be fine. If you would step threw that door there,” She motioned her hand to her left at an old wooden door “you will be giving your number.”


Billy nodded and slightly smiled as he turned and walked threw the door. A tall man in his mid twenty’s early thirty’s was standing there. Tattoos and scars covered his body, but his number was easy to point out among all of the markings. It was wrapped around his neck, it read, “9856453”.


The man looked at Billy, “How’s it goin bro?” He patted the cold steal table, “Go a head and lay down.” Billy did as he was told. “As you know this number is going to be your life.” The man slowly wrapped the restraints on the table around Billy’s arm as he continued to talk. “Your number is chosen, by linking this machine up to your body. It will then read threw your DNA and assign you a number. Keep in mind that your number also comes with a gift, varying on what you get.”


“What did you get?” Billy asked out of curiosity. “I mean as a gift.”


“Me.” The man stopped and looked at Billy. “Well… I didn’t really get anything useful.” The man removed his shirt reveling his torso. It was covered in green scales. “Yea it may be able to keep me from getting stabbed. It’s still not as useful as pyrokeneses.” He looked at Billy again “Well let’s get this over with” He said as he put his shirt back on.

Billy gulped. He was nerves even though he had been taught this in the number class. The man asked Billy a question, but Billy wasn’t paying any attention so he instinctively answered yes. The man picked up a big needle and inserted it into his arm. “Here we go.” Billy screamed in pain as the needle grew longer and wrapped around the inside of his arm. The pain felt as if his muscles and bones were being ripped apart, but this was normal right. The needle finished with his arm and entered into his chest. “Your doin good kid just a bit longer.” The thing then stopped and sat there for a moment and then started to back up out of the body. The pain of it leaving was even worse because it was separating from his DNA. Billy tried to move but the restraints were keeping him from moving. It pulled its self out and returned to being a normal needle.

The back of Billy’s neck was burning. It felt as if he had just been branded. The man undid his restraints and helped Billy sit up. “Well let me see. What did you get?” Billy pulled his long black hair off the back of his neck reveling it to the man. “It can’t be.” He had said in horror.


“What?” Billy looked at the man, as he grabbed a mirror and held it behind his head with his free hand.


“You got the mark.” The man backed up and fell to the ground. Then quickly crawled back wards into the corner. He had a terrified look on his face, a look of a person who was about to see death. “The mark of the beast.”


Out of the corner of his eye Billy could see his number in the mirror. It was three simple numbers that were all the same. His neck read “666”. Billy looked down at the man. He knew that this wasn’t good. Billy turned and ran out of the room as fast as he could. He ran threw the main lobby and out the front door.

Yes the number would change his life, but not for the better. Everyone ever marked with this number has been killed the moment of receiving there number. It was just his luck that there was not any guard there at the moment. He ran down the street and rounded the corner throwing him self against the wall. Billy grabbed his chest. He was starting to have problems breathing. Sweat poured out of his pores as he looked up at the sky. He has been marked, and his life will never be the same again.