E Is For Enemy

Chapter Thirty Two

Karma's P.O.V.

Rema Ishibashi was holding me, and I was unable to do anything. My body and mind were frozen.

A dead person was hugging me.

But she wasn't dead, because I could feel her skin against mine. I could hear her breathing and felt her heart steadily pumping in her chest.

But it was impossible, because we had buried her six years ago.

So I stood there, unable to do anything.

Finally, she pulled back, tears in her eyes. "I missed you so much, Karma-kun!"

I looked at her. She still looked as how I remembered her to be, but more youthful and radiant somehow.

"R...Rema..." I pulled away, pressing my back against the cold stone walls, trying to get as far away from her as I could.

"We have so much catching up to do!" She seemed unaware of how I was reacting to her, as if she could only see bright and happy things. "We can cook together and play games like we used to! I never finished reading you that story!"

"I-I can read on my own now," I said.

"Oh, yeah, you're right." She laughed, her dress flowing as she tossed her long dark hair back. "We're almost the same height now!"

She was just an inch taller than me, which was another continuity error, because I had a memory of me teasing her about how I had grown half a foot taller than her.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded at the voice. "What is going on?"

"Don't you like your present?" The voice was robotic, but still sounded like it was dripping with sweet sarcasm. 

"Rema is dead!" I hissed. "I don't know who this is, but it's not her. I told you, she is not my friend!"

"Karma," Rema was holding back tears, her hands against her mouth. "Why...why would you say that? It's always been me and you against the world. Don't you know me anymore?"

"I'm sorry," I shook my head. "But you're dead. I don't know who or what you are, but the Rema I know died six years ago."

"Murdered." The voice said stoically. 

I shot the walls a glare.

"Murdered?" Rema whispered. "No, that's impossible, I'm right here!"

"You're not Rema," I said softly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what they did to you or how you got here, but you're not the Rema Ishibashi that raised me."

"Do you want to know?" The walls asked. "Do you want to know how we brought the dead back to life?"

"The only thing I want to know is where the fucking exit is!" I shouted.

"All in the name of science," said the voice. "Remember when we took your blood?"

"How can I forget?" I snapped, yanking up a sleeve to show off all the little red pricks up and down my arm.

"That's just part one."

My blood ran cold. 

"What are you talking about? What are you planning on doing to me?"

And then the lights went dark.

-

Asano's P.O.V.

I hit the ground and the air was knocked out of me.

Groaning in pain at all my injuries, I slowly climbed back to my feet.

It took me a few moments to check and make sure none of my bones were broken, and then I scanned my surroundings.

I was in what looked like a tunnel, underground. The walls were curved and made of hard, cold dirt. At the end, there was some kind of artificial light, which I assumed let to whatever kind of building was down here.

This must have been an entrance/exit they were working on, but either abandoned or forgotten about, which explained why I had to fall to get here and why the door had been covered up.

Taking a deep breath, I started walking.

Karma was here, and I was determined to save him, at whatever cost.