Karma

~Chapter 10: Guy Named Ben~

I don't know how they did it. Oliver managed to not only persuade me and his family, but he also got me in a dress. From then on, supposedly I was going to be staying in the Luck family. Blech. Even their last name made me want to barf. The father was almost too cheery, the mom wore too much makeup and perfume. Oliver was... the older brother. Not much else to say.

Charlotte was very strange, reminded me a lot of Leo. Except for the fact the Leo actually has a better vocabulary than I do, and Charlotte talked like a first grader, despite being 9.

And if lady luck (no, not the mother) wasn't already against me, they just had to be having a banquette that night. Way too many people for someone who has trust issues to handle. I had to spend most of my time on the balcony. It wasn't so bad for the most part, but other people came out there quite a few times to make out. Blech.

Eventually someone tapped on my shoulder. I sighed and rolled my eyes, not bothering to look behind me. "No, I'm not going to move so you can have your privacy. Go find a closet or something."

"Um, no. I was going to ask you how you were doing." The person sounded like Oliver, and that proved to be true when he stepped next to me. I stood up a little straighter, still leaning on the balcony railing.

"Oh." I shrugged plainly. "I'm okay I guess. I just don't really like people."

"Yeah, I can't exactly blame you. They can be impulsive at times..." He sighed

I scoffed. "Really..."

He sighed and we stood in silence. I was perfectly happy with that, but of course he had to break it. "So have you always been on your own?"

"Never, actually." I answered honestly. He seemed a little surprised.

"But we found you alone!"

"I have a little sister."

Again beautiful silence immersed between us.

"What happened to her?"

Uhg.

I didn't answer. Not because I didn't want to (well, not only because), but because I really liked that silence. He took it as it being some type of touchy subject, which I was absolutely fine with.

"Hey Oliver, who's your little friend?" Someone said from behind us. We both turned to see a man with long, black, slicked back hair in a fancy shirt and a trench coat. He looked to be in his early twenties.

"Oh. Hey Uncle Ben." Oliver said, then turned back to staring out to his backyard. I scanned over him and our eyes met.

"Hi! I'm Ben, I don't think we've met before." He stuck his hand out, and I noticed it was gloved. I ignored his hand in general.

"We certainly haven't." I tried sounding as monotone as possible.

Ben looked to Oliver. "Where'd you pick this one up?" He asked in a sarcastic, childish way.

Oliver still didn't look back. "We found her in one of those abandoned houses. She's homeless, so we took her in."

My eyes widened as I did an angry zipper motion over my lips, wondering what the hell he was doing. As far as his parents knew, my family died in a fire and that I was just an innocent, sweet girl who wasn't ever much for conversation.

Ha. Right. Working for Satan is the most innocent thing ever.

Because he lied to his parents, I wondered why he told this guy the truth.

"Ah! Interesting." He smiled kindly at me, and it freaked me out so much. "Oliver, would it be alright if I had a word with this young lady alone?"

Oh no. Trust issue sensors kicking in.

"Oh, sure." He smiled and walked away, Ben smiled as he dismissed him.

When he was gone, Ben's smile dropped. He didn't turn unfriendly, he just didn't really try. From his pocket he pulled a white lighter and a box of cigs. He lit one and began smoking it.

This was the one time I didn't like silence. "Why did you as-"

"How many deals?" he interrupted.

"... Huh?"

"How many deals have you made?" He said softer but clearer.

I was still confused by what he meant. He rolled his eyes and took off his glove, showing me his hand, in which his nails were coloured the same shade as my hair. "Deals, you know. With S-A-T-A-N?"

It took me another few seconds to assess what he was saying. "How did you-"

"Please, as if anyone could dye their hair a rich shade of red if they've been living on the streets. Hair like that only happens to those who've made a deal. So, back to my question. How many deals?"

I sighed and slumped against the railing. "Thirteen."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Thirteen? Really? How?"

"Well first my little sister had the mortequad disease. He cured her of that, then both of us almost died of starvation, didn't have shelter, freeze to death, etc. She actually died once, so I had to do stuff for that. A lot of it's a blur. I almost got used to going to him for help, but of course now karma's stabbing me in the back. Leo gets kidnapped and I've made so many deals that I can't do anything about it..." I soon realized how easily words were slipping out of my mouth.

"Interesting... What was your sister's name again?"

Don't say it...

"Leo."

Dammit!

"And I don't think I ever caught your name." He breathed in from his cigarette and let out a puff of smoke.

"Nikki."

He nodded and then there was silence. I wanted to run, but I wanted to know. When he asked me a question I had to answer honestly. And I couldn't not answer, the words just drooled out like melted butter.

"What about you?" I finally asked. "How many deals have you made?"

"Two." He answered with a slight sigh. "My first one was to belong to a family. That one I got easy peasy." He looked back into the main area where people were conversing and smiled. "The second one was to never be lied to."

"Why the second one?"

"It's kind of important for my job. I'm a crime scene investigator, I work in a higher office but I'm still treated like low trash. Figures."

"So... do you investigate scenes from Karma?" I asked suggestively.

"Yeah, and the Bloody Brothers." He replied with a 'no big deal' tone.

"Who are the... Bloody Brothers?"

He stopped smoking, looking at me, still a little surprised. "The... Bloody brothers are, well... basically like Karma, but smaller. No one knows if they have anything to do with each other. They might even hate each other's guts for all we know... Why do you ask?"

"Just want to help with the destruction of Karma." I said firmly, intertwining my hands together.

"Ah, I see you're not a huge fan of them?"

"Nope."

"And why's that?"

"Well, they killed my mom and kidnapped my little sister, the only thing I had left in life. So, yeah. I'd say I've got just a bit of a vendetta."

"Sounds fun. Well, let me know how that revenge plan goes." He squished the butt of his cig into the pavement of the railing. "Oh, and here;" He reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out three journals. "I think these will come in handy for you. Keep them close, and, give 'em back the next time you see me, K?"

I just held the journals in my hand, not saying anything as he walked away. I looked at the covers of all three books. One was labelled "Karma."

One labelled "Bloody Brothers."

And the other, labelled "Satan/Death/Sin."