The Aftermath

S4E9: Karma

Three Years Ago:

The wind brushes across Tamara's teary-eyed face as she dodges all assortments of wildlife. She dashes through the forest like a bat out of hell, tears hindering her vision.
Sarah's suffering pleas still ring clearly in her head as she desperately grasps at her neck. Witnessing Sarah fall to her knees while craving that sweet breath of air was enough to set Tamara over the edge.
She pants as petrified thoughts combine with morbid ones. Did I just kill her? How did this happen? I thought I regained control! Why didn't I help her? Tamara thinks to herself frantically
Her mind flashes back and forth between the soon to be corpse of Sarah and that same man who Karma strangely envisioned once in control. She starts to hyperventilate from fear and exhaustion, eventually taking a breather by the tree.
She looks at the tree for a moment while the breeze sends chills down her spine. Even just looking at a tree reminds Tamara of what happens moments before Sarah's death.
Tamara hesitates, but she eventually gazes back at the compound. She can still see the fences as well as the body. It might be harder to spot, but it's still rather hard to miss.
She's dying alone. Sarah is suffering while confusion and fear overwhelm her. Tamara looks down at her shaky hands, absolutely drenched with Sarah's blood.
Sarah was a symbol of not only Simon's sanity, but it was also a representation of hope for Tamara'a unforeseeable future. She offered Tamara a chance to live freely amongst their group.
However, Karma intervened; there's nothing left to be hopeful for. Although she wants to reassure herself, she can't believe her dirty little lies. She's beyond recovery at his point. Simon and the others are out for blood, and she knows it.
"It's ok Tam. It's ok! Everything will be fine! You can move on from this utter mistake," Tamara mutters to herself in between sobs.
She can feel herself losing control as a multitude of troubling images come to her conscience. Her eyes widen as she grasps at her head. Suddenly, she breathes in slowly while snapping three times, representing her shift.
"Get him out of my head! I can't take it anymore with this demeaning torment!" Karma practically yells, shifting once more.
Tamara regains control after that small moment of Karma's outburst. She never wanted to be this way. No one even knows that fact, but Sarah gave her the chance to become a true member of he group.
All Tamara did was waste her one true opportunity to live a normal life. A life that she has never experienced before. Her livelihood has been built on ridicule and heinous thoughts. She has contemplated suicide even before this apocalyptic scenario came about.
She wants to learn how to control her personalities. It's a necessity if she's going to change in the near future. If it wasn't for her childhood, or lack thereof, she wouldn't be in this nightmare. If only she had support.
       Tamara sits quietly to herself on the ledge of the windowsill outside a facility of some sorts. She's swinging her legs impatiently, alternating each leg. She looks to be much younger here, around ten to twelve years old.
She causally whips her head around, watching her parents talk to the nurse at the front desk. She notices her dad's typical smile while her mother chuckles along with his repetitive jokes.
She examines her father, noticing his odd behavior. He's secretly hurting on the inside. At this point, she can easily tel whether her father portrays a fake smile or a real one.
Tamara has always hated this place. The atmosphere always feels dull and depressing. The doctors would look at her with hope while clearly hiding their actual feelings, finding her presence as simply annoying. She became a natural at reading people at such a young age.
Finally, her father turns around, the mother shortly trailing behind him. His face is revealed to be the man that Karma cemented in her mind. He seems to be your typical everyday go-getter.
They both walk out of the medical institution. Tamara feeling the cold air from the inside shoot daggers on her sensitive skin. She's grown accustomed to this place, but she still despises every moment of it.
"How ya doin love bug? Ready to go home?" her mother says cheerfully.
Tamara nods slowly, not shedding one look at her father. She knows how unpredictable he is. There's an awkward silence before he decides to speak.
"Honey. You can go to work. I'll drive our daughter home," he says with a melancholy expression.
"O-Ok! See ya home sweetheart!" She stutters, merely walking away towards her destination instead of getting driven.
Tamara can't help but obtain anxiety as she enters the car without her mother. However, having anxiety is the last thing her parents would want right now. Such unnecessary aspects like that become a burden to the family.
Tamara sits in silence for a while. Her father intentionally not making conversation as they travel on a remote dirt road. Their house is practically in the middle of nowhere, typically little to no cars are seen past this point.
Tamara rests her head on the foggy, cold window. It's comforting to her, feeling the vibrations rushing to her head. It's calming considering the fact that her father is acting so distant. She decides to speak; it's been going on for too long now.
"Dad? Dad?" Tamara asks timidly.
No answer. Suddenly that cooling sensation of the window seems to replace itself with sweat. Nerves and fear slowly starting to infiltrate Tamara's body.
"Are you okay dad? I'm sorry for everything," Tamara says while gloomily looking down at her scraped jeans.
Suddenly, he abruptly stops the car, practically destroying his brakes. That impact sends Tamara flying head first into the backseat. Smashing her head against the driver's seat.
She's dazed. Her head and nose are bleeding as cuts and soon to be bruises begin formulating. She's about to cry. She doesn't want to, but it's going to happen. The dizziness is slowly becoming unbearable. Her head is throbbing from the impact.
Before she even regains her balance, the father whips around in his seat, viciously grabbing her daughter's collar while pulling her in. He shows her a menacing look while they maintain direct eye contact.
"Let me make myself clear. I don't want or need you. You're not my daughter; you're a fucking disgrace," her father scowls.
He contains pure animosity in his eyes. He genuinely feels hate for his own daughter. His expression is so cold and empty. It's like he wishes she'd just go away, evaporate into thin air.
"Dad? What're you talking about? It's me, your daughter! I love you!" Tamara rambles emotionally.
"Karma's a bitch. You just have to accept it," he says bluntly before continuing the elongated ride home.
Tamara is filled with confusion, sadness and this new emotion. It has a negative connotation that feels fierce and menacing. It feels like she's about to erupt like a volcano. This strange feeling is her first encounter of true anger, and it's only building up from here on out.
A day passes, nighttime filled with nightmares from the day before. Tamara sits awkwardly at the dining room table with her mother next to her in the morning.
Her father ever-so-obviously listening in on the conversation from the hallway. He may be unpredictable at times, but he's the opposite of sleek.
She remains there in the seat, head down while avoiding all communication with her parents. Her mother being oblivious as usual, convincing herself that Tamara simply forget to buckle up. However, there's more than what meets the eye.
She's absolutely sick of the treatment that she receives. There's always been a longing of never being born. This illness that she contains is like a deadly virus that plagues the family bond.
Her mother is open and calm when it comes to her condition while her father is the exact opposite. He's hostile and vicious, his only intention being to get rid of his daughter for good.
"Alright honey, so we got some information regarding your personalities," she says with a calming aura behind her.
Despite her mother's optimistic attitude, it's still a struggle to live a levelheaded life with her medical problems. Why did this have to happen to her? Is there any way to rekindle their family?
"Last night, I heard you mumbling in your dreams. There's two personalities that we're already aware of which is Sapphire and Abigail. Sapphire was more adventurous and giddy while Abigail was more timid. Do you remember that?" She asks warmly.
She still doesn't answer. Every second that she's alive is always fueled by constant worry and sadness. Tamara would talk about her personalities, but she's terrified of how her father would retaliate.
"Well, I heard a new personality arise last night, and if I'm being honest, it was frightening," she says in a sudden serious tone.
This catches Tamara off guard. Even she would have a slight suspicion if there was a new personality to worry about. She assumes the worst, thinking about her true desires of having a joyful family come into the light.
"You were mumbling some scary things. You also kept mumbling the word Karma," her mother showing a bewildered expression at the name.
Both Tamara and her father nearly jump out of their skin. Her eyes are widened as she trembled from the possibility of her father giving off an evil personality in his own daughter.
"God damnit!" He shouts aggressively, punching a hole in the wall.
"Calm down! This isn't Tamara's fault!" Her mother fights back, instantly shocking Tamara.
Her mother has mostly ignored any remnants of obvious abuse that's been going on in the household. She's terrified to have her voice be heard when there's her belittling husband to worry about.
"There ain't no way that I caused this personality from forming. You're a faker you piece of trash!" He shouts in frustration, blaming Tamara for the uncontrollable.
His wife runs over, trying to stop him from striking Tamara. However, in return, he shoves her away, striking her until she finally falls to the floor. Tamara crying is just an everyday occurrence, but this feels different somehow.
Watching her mother get mutualized by her own father sets her over the edge. She'd rather die than watch her only support system get killed right before her very eyes. This needs to stop, now!
"Dad! Please stop," Tamara pleads desperately as her emotions run wild.
       This seemingly calm, well-mannered man to the public eye has turned into a wild animal, craving the vengeful taste of blood from his victims. He won't stop until he completely obliterated this thing that claims to be her daughter.
       He looks over at Tamara with an overwhelming amount of hatred. He walks toward his daughter, preparing his fists to make contact once again.
       His knuckles are dripping in blood from beating his wife. He hasn't even checked if she's still conscious or alive. Confidence is mixed with carelessness as he walks over towards Tamara, trying to finish the job.
       He swings, blood spattering on the wall she's cornered in. This process repeats itself a couple of more times. Tamara has accepted it at this point. Her mind has been tainted with negative thoughts about herself for years.
       She's accepted death as the attacks keep coming. She knows that there's no saving grace in this situation. He's about to slaughter his own daughter in cold blood.
       Her vision starts to fade as this ringing keeps protruding in her eardrums. It's painful. This whole experience is absolutely dreadful. Suddenly, she switches. Letting out the wicked entity that was formed in that car ride by her father, Karma.
       He swings to finalize his goal, she catches his fist, twisting around with immense strength. This causes him to recoil, Karma repeatedly kicking his groin. He groans in pain as he gazes up at this creature.
       This presence that Karma gives off is like superiority. This is the first time he's ever been truly afraid of anyone. A tear rolls down his check, his wrist completely shattered from the insane amount of strength that's contained in this entity.
       "Well, hello there! If it isn't my loving daddy," Karma says cynically.
       He gazes at her in disbelief. This monster that he created has somehow found its way to his fragile daughter. He's been overpowered by this sadistic force. 
       "K-Karma?" He stutters out of fear.
       "Ready to rot in hell?" Karma asks menacingly while grabbing the conveniently placed hammer that she placed in the middle of the night.
       She planned out this scenario piece by piece, letting the body she encompasses get brutally injured to do so. She grabs the hammer, her father kicking and squirming to get away.
       She quickly strikes the hammer down, practically denting his head in after every hit. A scene that you'd only see from a horror movie. You know it's over once his body goes completely limp.
       However, Karma doesn't stop there. She keeps striking again and again. His head has now turned into a stump. Blood is splattered all over the dining room floor. White tiles turning red.
       The mother slowly starts to stabilize, waking up to an unimaginable sight. Her daughter has just murdered her husband. She screams in shock as tears roll down her eyes.
       Karma walks over towards her, a smile portrayed on her face while her flashy pink dress contains a pool of blood in the center. This seemingly innocent girl has just turned savage.
       "T-Tamara! What have you done?" She chokes over her own words, nearly vomiting from the amount of blood.
       "Listen up. This was self-defense. The act was committed by you after he brutally attacked your innocent little girl. I'll spare you," Karma says with a chuckle.
       Ever since that horrid event, Tamara has always been a wildcard. The birth of Karma will soon kickstart much more acts of evil. Tamara wasn't the main host anymore. It's Karma. It's only Karma.
       That memory rings clearly in Tamara's mind as her first two victims act as complete opposites. The first being abusive and tormenting while the second was a respectable, compassionate human being.
       She will never forget the impact of Sarah's death. The regret and remorse is there, but Tamara's going to need to try as hard as she can to redeem herself in the near future. That day may never come, but she's willing to try
       However, she's not prepared for this journey yet. First she needs to find herself. She must gain the ability to control her abnormally powerful personality of Karma. Once she accomplished that, the she can return in a normalized manner. It's only a matter of time before they meet again.