The signs
1396 Words
The screaming continued for almost a minute.
Kairo stood behind his window, watching the street below.
People were running.
Some were calling for help.
Others were filming with their phones.
The man inside the crashed car kept shaking.
The tattoos covering his neck had begun glowing.
Kairo knew that shouldn't be happening.
Not yet.
He checked the calendar.
October 27th, 3422.
Seven days remained.
He had lived through this once.
The first strange tattoo reaction happened much later in his previous timeline.
Something had changed.
The question was what.
Kairo grabbed his jacket.
He was halfway toward the door when he stopped.
No.
Running outside without knowing what was happening was stupid.
He had spent weeks preparing his house for exactly this kind of situation.
He looked through the security camera feed instead.
The man was still inside the car.
Two people were standing nearby.
One of them approached the driver's door.
“Sir! Can you hear me?”
The driver suddenly slammed his fist against the window.
BANG!
Everyone jumped.
His body jerked violently.
Then—
Silence.
The glow disappeared.
The driver collapsed against the steering wheel.
People cautiously approached again.
An ambulance arrived several minutes later.
Kairo watched until the paramedics removed the man.
Only then did he breathe.
He closed the camera feed.
“What was that?”
He had no answer.
---
The following morning, Kairo called Naya.
“I need you to come to my house.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Your house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“About tattoos?”
“Yes.”
She sighed.
“Fine. Give me the address.”
Kairo ended the call.
Then he began preparing.
He placed his old notebook on the table.
Beside it were several books he had purchased during the past few weeks.
Egyptian mythology.
Greek mythology.
Buddhist philosophy.
Norse mythology.
African traditional symbols.
Ancient languages.
He had never been interested in most of these subjects before.
Now he couldn't stop studying them.
If tattoos became sources of power after the Awakening, understanding their origins could become important.
At least, that was what Kairo believed.
The truth was that he still didn't understand the real mechanism.
He only knew the results.
Powerful tattoos created powerful people.
That was enough for him.
A knock came at the door.
Kairo opened it.
Naya stood outside.
She looked at him.
Then her eyes widened.
“Wow.”
Kairo raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You weren't joking.”
“What do you mean?”
She stepped inside.
“Your house.”
She looked around.
The equipment.
The solar batteries.
The water storage.
The reinforced windows.
The gym.
“You've turned your home into a bunker.”
“Not a bunker.”
“What then?”
“A preparation room.”
Naya looked at him suspiciously.
“For what?”
Kairo didn't answer.
Instead, he led her to the table.
“Look at this.”
He showed her photographs of the man's tattoos from the previous night.
Naya's expression became serious.
“I saw the news.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I don't know.”
“You're a tattoo artist.”
“That doesn't mean I know everything about tattoos.”
She studied the photograph.
“The design isn't unusual.”
“Could it be dangerous?”
“Any tattoo can become infected if it's done badly.”
“I'm not talking about infection.”
Naya looked at him.
Kairo leaned forward.
“Have you noticed anything strange with your tattoos?”
Her face changed.
Only for a moment.
But Kairo noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Naya.”
She looked away.
“My tattoos have been itching.”
Kairo's heart skipped.
“When?”
“About four days ago.”
“Anything else?”
“Sometimes they feel warm.”
“Do they glow?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
Naya hesitated.
Then slowly shook her head.
“No.”
Kairo leaned back.
Four days.
That meant it had started around October 23rd.
Even earlier than the incident last night.
His timeline was becoming less reliable by the hour.
“What?”
Naya noticed his expression.
“Why are you asking all these questions?”
Kairo looked at her.
“I think something is coming.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I know.”
She folded her arms.
“You've been acting strange since the day you walked into my shop.”
Kairo remained silent.
Naya continued.
“You came in with hundreds of ancient tattoo designs. You took out a huge loan. You renovated your entire house. You bought enough food to survive for months.”
She pointed toward his gym.
“And you've been training like you're preparing for a war.”
Kairo smiled faintly.
“Maybe I am.”
Naya stared at him.
“You're serious.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Kairo looked toward the window.
Because I have already seen the future.
Because I know millions will die.
Because I know this city will become a battlefield.
Because I know the people around me will change.
But he couldn't say any of that.
Instead, he gave her the only answer he could.
“Instinct.”
Naya laughed.
“That's the worst explanation I've ever heard.”
Kairo smiled.
“It's the only one I have.”
---
That afternoon, something happened.
A news alert appeared on Kairo's phone.
UNUSUAL ANIMAL ATTACK REPORTED IN CENTRAL DISTRICT.
Kairo opened it.
A large dog had attacked three people.
Police had shot it after it became aggressive.
Witnesses claimed the animal had grown larger during the incident.
The authorities dismissed the claim as panic.
Kairo didn't.
He immediately opened another report.
STRANGE PLANT GROWTH REPORTED IN SOUTHERN DISTRICT.
Another.
MULTIPLE TATTOO USERS REPORT UNUSUAL HEAT UNDER SKIN.
Another.
HOSPITALS REPORT INCREASE IN UNEXPLAINED FAINTING CASES.
Kairo slowly lowered his phone.
It was happening.
Earlier than before.
Much earlier.
He looked at Naya.
“Go home.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Go home.”
“Why?”
“Stay away from crowded places.”
She stared at him.
“You're scaring me.”
“Good.”
Kairo's voice was serious.
“Be scared.”
Naya didn't laugh this time.
She picked up her bag.
“What's going to happen?”
Kairo looked at her.
“I don't know anymore.”
That frightened him.
For the first time, he wasn't pretending.
The previous timeline had been predictable.
This one wasn't.
Naya walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she turned around.
“Kairo.”
“Yeah?”
She looked at the tattoos covering his arms.
“Whatever you're preparing for…”
She paused.
“Make sure you're ready.”
Then she left.
Kairo locked the door.
---
That night, Kairo didn't sleep.
He sat in his gym.
The lights were off.
Only the faint glow from the solar-powered security system illuminated the room.
He looked at his tattoos.
For weeks, they had been nothing but ink.
But now…
they occasionally felt warm.
Not painful.
Just warm.
Kairo touched the Eye of Horus on his arm.
“Not yet.”
He stood.
He began training.
One hour.
Then two.
Then three.
He pushed his body harder than ever.
Because if the Awakening had already begun in small ways…
then he couldn't afford to wait.
At exactly 3:17 a.m., every security camera in the house suddenly went black.
Kairo stopped.
Silence.
Then the cameras returned.
One by one.
But something was different.
The camera facing his backyard showed a tree.
Kairo stared at the screen.
The tree had been small yesterday.
Now it was enormous.
Its branches reached across the entire yard.
And slowly…
one of those branches moved.
Kairo stared.
The branch bent toward the camera.
As if it knew it was being watched.
Kairo's face became expressionless.
He reached for the weapon he had prepared beside the gym door.
Outside, the tree moved again.
Then something scratched against the wall.
Scratch.
Kairo froze.
Another sound followed.
Scratch.
Whatever was outside wasn't alone.
Kairo looked at the clock.
3:18 a.m.
Seven days remained.
But perhaps the countdown had already begun.
And this time…
the apocalypse wasn't waiting for November 3rd.
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