Karma

No Break

I felt about dozens of rocks enter my shoes all at the same time while I was running.
The soles were probably gonna burn but whatever.

I abruptly stopped in my tracks and felt myself slightly panting.
"I'm back." I sighed in relief as I knelt down.
The birds were chirping overhead.

I shuddered at the thought that if I had failed the task earlier, these birds wouldn't even be alive to be able to chirp at this time.

But back to the topic—the soles of my shoes were already wearing out a little.
Not too bad though.
I never had this problem before.

I tapped the shoes on the ground to get the rocks out.

No lie, I felt like a beggar. You know, worn out shoes...ripped clothing...

Speaking of clothing, these clothes I borrowed from Jun-Seo...he's not gonna want it back.
Why does he even have ninja clothes anyway?

I pulled my mask down so that I could breathe better.

"He's back!" Someone yelled.
I glanced up as I saw the warriors scurrying out the building.

I stood up and heard two cracks in my knees.
"Ouch.." I murmured, attempting a smile.

Goddamn I probably have arthritis.

Lilliana was also there. Dr. Cory looked weak and fragile like an old woman.

Side effects of bringing someone back to life.
I nodded understandingly.

They looked at me like I was a weirdo.

"Well." I broke the silence. "Hi."

Gary and James looked at me with watery eyes and rushed towards me. A stampede followed.
It's not the best thing in the world when you're the one being run over.

I coughed.
"He-hey g-gu—I CAN'T BREATHE."

I felt my breath starting to come back.
I clasped a hand dramatically over my heart.

Agent 3 was pulling people back from me.
Thank god.

"Good job. Wanna granola bar?" Agent 6 offered, shoving it in my face.
I gave him a smile as I reluctantly grabbed the bar.

"This calls for a celebration!" Dr. Cory clapped.

"Nono I'm still sore..." I shook my hands frantically.

"A CELEBRATION!" Everyone started to scream.

Ena started dancing around in joy as the warriors joined in one by one.
"You're not helping..." I seethed.

I squeezed my arm and winced.
No injuries but still sore like hell.

"Can't we just...chill out today? You know? Movie night?"

The warriors started nodding, taking my idea into consideration.
"Everyone needs a break after today too. How about we all go to the agent's room?"

Gary looked at agent 3 with sparkly eyes.

"No. Definitely not." He muttered, looking away.

James joined in with puppy eyes.

"We are not going to go to my room." He repeated.