A Girl Called Karma

Within these walls

A Girl Called Karma Part Two
Written By: C.E.H

Karmas point of view

After getting some bread and clothes from a shop down the way we walked to some kind of studio. There was loud music playing inside. We walked inside and saw a man playing guitar and singing. He sang,
"I'll listen, I'll listen, I'll listen unwillingly! Cause you know," he dropped to his knees and yelled, "I'm a rollin' stone!"
Tavern walked over and sat on the stage.
"That's a new one," he said,
"Yep," the man said, "hey, who's the girl?"
"That's my little sister, K.O. She was part of that found family I had on earth," Tavern responded.
"The ones who treated you badly?"
"Eh, they did sometimes, but K.O was always nice to me," he smiled, looking over at me.
"It's actually Karma now" I said sheepishly,
"Sorry, I forgot. Oh how rude am I! I forgot to introduce you to Atlantis," he exclaimed, dragging the man by the wrist over to me, "Karma, this is Atlantis, my roommate. Atlantis, this is my sister Karma. She'll be staying with us for the time being,"
Atlantis shook my hand and smiled, "welcome to the team,"

I smiled back at him and then took a step back. I really looked at the two of them for a moment. Tavern somehow got taller. I remember he was 6'4 but now he was about an inch taller. I may have been imagining things though. His horns that were once beige and curled backwards like a bull were now red and black. His hair had grown out, a little below his shoulder, and his abnormal and naturally gray hair had reduced to just a strip of spiky gray hair.

He had a little more stubble on his face than he had before. He had burn scars around his face and up his arms, and a scar across his neck. I later found out he died from decapitation. In contrast to Tav who was more tall and tough-looking, Atlantis was average height with a more panther-like build. He had a missing eye and short, fluffy, black hair. They dressed punk-like and I took it that was the norm in hell considering the people I'd seen around and the clothes sold in the stores. I didn't have a problem with it, though. I thought it looked cool.

After playing his guitar for a bit Atlantis looked over to Tavern,
"Does she know about the job thing?" He asked,
"What job thing- ohhh," Tavern started, "hey Karma do you know what a bounty hunter is?"
"Yeah," I said, "why?"
"Because me and Atlantis are basically bounty hunters" he said, to which Atlantis followed by explaining,
"More like assassins but same difference I guess, we work under Lucifer and get rid of people who are problematic in any way to the council, we get paid a lot for it and also get respect from the other sinners,"
"Oh, okay, that's cool I guess," I shrugged,
"Yeah, hey do you have any fighting skills-" Atlantis started but Tavern cut him off
"Atlantis!" He said through gritted teeth,
Ut"Actually, I do," I said, taking a seat next to Tavern, tucking my knees to my chest, "Fordam's in shambles right now because of me,"
"See? She's the perfect addition to the team!" Atlantis cheered, making Tavern shake his head.
"Still, we can't just bring a kid along on a high stakes bounty hunt," He said,
"It's just not right."
"Let's just give her a shot, at the very least. She looks capable," Atlantis shrugged,
"Atlantis, surely you know that's a bad idea," Tavern said in irritation.
"And what if it isn't? You know we could use the help," Atlantis took a look back at me, "hey kid, are you smart?"
"I've been a straight A student since before I even got letter grades, if that's what you're asking. And I'm pretty sensible," I responded,
"And too powerful for your own good," Tavern mumbled,
"I'm sorry?" I asked, immediately taking offense to his remark.
"What I mean is you may be a little...well...dangerous. And after everything you've been through I feel as if it's too risky to throw you back on the field so soon," he explained,

Hearing those words, for whatever reason, made me want to prove him wrong even more. I stood up and Atlantis grinned,
"I'm not 5 years old anymore Tavern! Give me a chance and I'll prove myself useful," I insisted,
Tavern sighed and pulled his glasses up, rubbing his nose bridge, then nodding, "fine."
I grinned and shook him around, "you won't regret this!"
He laughed a little and shook his head. He took his bass guitar out of its case and plugged it into the amp. He started to strum a few chords.
"So, do you guys have a house around here?" I asked,
"Yeah, we got a house down the street," Atlantis said, sharpening a knife that was black and crystal-looking.

"Woah..." I started, "is that obsidian?"
"Yeah, it is. I got plenty more cool knives, but this one's my favorite. I never use it but I carry it around. It's my most prized possession," he said, smiling while admiring the knife.
We spent a little while at the studio before walking back to Atlantis and Taverns house. When we walked inside, Tavern showed me around. It was a pretty nice house, I loved their decorations. I sat down on the couch while Atlantis was cleaning the kitchen.

Tavern sat down next to me and turned on some sort of romance drama on the TV.
"How's Timothy, Tavern?" I asked,
"Oh, uh, him and I are... split," he said, his shoulders slumping over.
"Good for it," Atlantis broke in, "you're too good for him anyways" I heard him mutter. Tavern looked zoned out and sad. I leaned on his arm and had to shift a little to make room for my wings.
Wait.... Wings? I thought to myself.
Despite having tried on a new outfit, I hadn't looked in the mirror all day.
I didn't know how much my appearance had changed. My hair was disheveled, a dripping black halo hung above my head, and I had wing stubs on my back. I thought they'd be grey or black like I've seen other fallen angels have but even my wings set me apart. They were blood red. One of my eyes were pure black and I had a scar across my face, likely from the things I did in Fordam.
Taverns hand brushed past my wings and rested on my shoulder.
"This really is a nice house," I smiled,
"Yeah, only problem is it's a one bedroom," he shrugged,
"Oh yeah? Is that a problem?" Atlantis teased, to which Tavern shook his head and smiled. I caught onto what was happening with the two pretty quickly. They were obviously, at the very least, a thing. But what I saw lying underneath was Tav's pure, undying love for Timothy. It was like the expression on his face when I said Timothy's name. It was bitter, sure, but there was a kind of sadness in the way his shoulders slumped over, and the way he seemed to look down towards the floor.

The rest of the day was uneventful. After dinner we got tired, so Tavern set up the couch to be a bed for me to sleep on. Once I laid down I tried to recall any good times I'd had since Renna's death. There wasn't a single one that I could think of.
I lost my best friend, my lover. The only person who ever gave a damn.
I closed my eyes and exhaled, rolling over onto my side. I tried to imagine I was sleeping next to her again. I soon drifted off into unconsciousness, the only peace I'd seen since that day by the city-sign.
I opened my eyes in a familiar place.
The orphanage.
The only difference was, it was empty.
"Hello? Anyone?... Renna?" I called out,
I heard footsteps come my way. When I turned around I saw an anomaly the color of pure black. I took a few steps back from it and pulled out a sickle from it's belt loop.
I took off running down the halls.
The dark figure followed me, the sound of gunshots and screams leaving its mouth. I ran into an empty classroom.
I lifted a plate of the ceiling and climbed up into the roof. I tried to crawl but suddenly I felt insects crawl into my hair, sending me into a panic. While I tried to move, the plates of the ceiling crumbled in and I fell through the hole that was left over. The ground beneath me seemed to vanish as I continued falling.
I jumped out of my sleep with a yell, breathing heavily afterwards.

Tavern rushed out to the living room after hearing me.
"Karma?" He asked tiredly, "what's up? Everything alright?"
I shook my head, pushing my hair back.
He tilted his head to the side a little bit then seemed to understand, nodding. He sat a little closer to me.
"I understand Karma, I do. What you've been through is... horrifying, to say the least. But I can wholeheartedly promise that within these walls you are protected. 'Right?" He said softly,
It took me a few seconds to process the words he'd said, but then I nodded,
"Alright..." I responded,
He pulled my blanket over me and ruffled my hair before standing up,
"Sleep well, tinytusks," he said while walking out,
"Yeah yeah, go to sleep, nerd," I said in response, rolling over. I couldn't help but smile a little.
Maybe things won't be so bad here.