[ c h a p t e r s i x ]
song of a siren
"Darling, no one's soul is pure,
We're not here to keep things clean."
- cf.
•••
"From Luke, Fugitives spotted on Winpool!" Karma grins while telling Jason. He turns to the side of the road and drives fast towards the Winpool as Harry's car followed them.
Karma guessed Allie recieved the text too, but she wasn't going to let anyone get in their way. "They got the text, too. Drive faster." She tells Jason, looking behind them.
Jason snickers, knowing well how competitive the girl could get. "Sure, darling." Whatever Karma wants, Karma gets, so he stepped on the gas and followed her instructions.
"That one!" Karma pointed at a skinny guy who tried to run as fast as he could. Karma opened the door to the car as it was still moving, jumping out to run after the boy.
"You can't run away from me." She mutters beneath her breath while running towards the boy. She jumps at him and laughs, catching the guy. "Sorry 'bout that." She pats his chest.
The boy didn't respond, only blushing at how Karma Eden was literally lying above him. Karma got up and whistled for Jason who came instantly with fake handcuffs. "Okay, now don't look at a lady that way." He taunts the boy who looked down, flustered.
"I-I wasn't—" Jason laughed while throwing him at the backseat. "What do you mean? We all have." He jokes.
Karma punches Jasons shoulders, "Come on! We've got others to catch!" She jumps in her seat as Jason did too, driving off once again. "Fugitive spotted on Maple!" She announces, looking out of her opened window for anyone who might be running.
"Roger that." Jason howls, driving fast.
"There!" Karma points at a person running right in front of them. She noticed Allie and Harry's car just in front of them, so she jumped out of the car as quickly as she could to run after the running fugitive.
Karma, however, blinded with her thirst to capture, hardly noticed another car that had pulled up to catch the running fugitive. In fact, maybe she did, but she simply didn't care.
Right then and there, Clark who was driving the cop car had managed to hit the brakes.
"Karma! Watch out!" Karma looked at Allie who stopped on her tracks, just before feeling a car hit her. Allie gasped, running immediately to the other side of the car where Karma had fallen.
"Fuck! Karma! Karma!" Harry runs as well as Jason who came with a worried expression, muttering profanities under his breath. "What the fuck, Clark?!" He shouts at his friend, pushing him in his chest.
"Shit, man, I-I didn't see her!" Clark shouts back.
Harry kneeled down at Karma.
"Ugh." Karma groans, then lays down at her back. She begins laughing, "My heart is beating so fucking fast!" She continues laughing, standing up.
"Jesus, Eden." Harry says as Allie facepalms, then starts laughing with her.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Karma points to Jason who still looked worried. "We have fugitives to catch!" She shouts, grinning, before running to catch the guy that ran away.
"She's a maniac." Clark mutters toward Luke and Jason who agreed with him.
——————————
The loud music blared from the speakers, almost making Karma dizzy. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the damage from getting hit by a police car.
"You're a fucking psycho, Sinclair," Adonis lectured the girl sitting down with her feet dangling in the pool.
"I almost had a fucking heart attack when I heard about it." Leo told her, searching her body for any bleeding or scars.
"Not wanting to lose me, now, Martínez?" Karma jokes, splashing water at the boy. "No, I don't want to lose you, Karma." Leo tells her firmly. Karma noticed a different expression on his face.
"Don't sweat about it, i'm perfectly fine. I mean, look at Clark who's ass hit me." She points at the drunk boy drinking from his bottle of beer and making out with his girlfriend not having a care in the world.
"But seriously, Karma, take care of yourself. We can't afford to lose you." Jason speaks from behind her. Karma rolls her eyes, sipping from her bottle. "Yeah, Sure, loverboy." She tells him, pointing at the girl beside the jock.
She wasn't a fan of the boys' girlfriends or flings, especially Gwen and her group of friends who's always tried to come latching on to her best friends.
They were civil with each other, yes, and sometimes Karma would notice that they feared her, not that she could change how they viewed her.
Luke was sitting with Helena on the other side of the pool, the only girl she ever liked from all the other girlfriends the boys had.
Leo had left her side with a girl in his arms, yet again to God knows where, while Adonis drifted somewhere to look for a girl he's been texting. "You're left with me, then." Grizz sat down beside her, refilling her drink.
"Thanks," She grinned. "My hero."
"Yeah, well, I could get used to that." He jokes, looking at the girl. "I thought you'd be with one of Gwens friends or something," Karma told him, raising her eyebrows. Grizz shook his head, chuckling while looking down, then back at her.
"Why would I do that when I can sit here with you?" Karma felt her stomach warming, not that she knew what that meant. She laughs at him while rolling her eyes, "That's what they all say." She jokes.
"How's your side?" Grizz asks, pointing to her stomach. "Heard you got ran over."
"Im the talk of the town?" She asks smugly, putting her bottle down beside her. "You kinda always are." Grizz replied, snickering.
"Well, it's gonna leave a bruise, but other than that, I feel fucking great." Karma says, pointing to the left side of her abdomen.
Upon arriving at the house, Karma went directly to the toilet to see what has been aching at her side before joining the others in drinking. She spotted a huge bruise that's probably going to last for a week or so, but she thought that not touching it would be fine, and there's not really much to worry about.
Besides, she's had far worse than this.
"Wait, seriously? I thought you weren't hit that hard," Clark cuts in between their conversation, now looking worried. Karma could see Gwen fume from the side of her peripheral view when she had noticed her boyfriend was just listening to the whole conversation instead of kissing her.
"Yeah, well you drive like a bitch." Karma laughs, trying to brush the worry off his expression.
"Can I see it?" Clark asked, moving closer.
Gwen stood up from the bench she was sitting at. "Im going to grab drinks, Clark." She looks at her boyfriend expectantly, waiting for him to join her inside.
"Yeah, sure." Clark told Gwen, not even looking back at her. She scoffed and stormed off, grabbing Jason's date with her.
"What the hell," Jason murmured, sitting properly and resting his elbows on his legs. Karma looked at Clark, "There's really nothing to worry about, it's just a dumb bruise." Clark nods his head and returns to his seat.
They drank and conversed with one another for a few more minutes, laughing and throwing jokes every now and then.
"I fucking did not!" Karma denies, shaking her head while laughing. "Nah, you did, Kar. Ben couldn't even attend classes the next day after that." Jason chuckles.
Karma remembered the boy who called Avery a side chick when they were in Fourth or maybe Fifth grade, the memory a little foggy for her. "I only broke his nose!" She defended herself, raising her hand.
"You made him pee his pants, and he transferred out of town a fucking week after." Clark was laughing hard, recollecting the memories. "I was literally at the restroom with him when he was cleaning his pants, Kar, you can't deny it." Grizz tells her, sipping from his own bottle of vodka.
Dizzily, Karma reached for another bottle, only to be stopped by Luke who had now approached them. "Okay, not again. We're closer to the pool this time." He jokingly says, taking the bottle from her.
Karma groaned, "You're a bitch." She complains, "My bitch." Helena tells her and sits beside Luke who sat on an empty bench.
"Yeah, whatever. I can get a man too, someday." Karma grinned. "You're too much of a maniac for a guy to approach." Jason tells her and she sends him a glare.
The boys laugh at this comment, knowing well that many tried to approach the beauty, yet they were either too scared to come close when the whole football team is literally her best friends, or too scared of Karma herself.
"A hot maniac," She cheekily replies, winking. Clark clears his throat at that, drinking from his bottle.
Suddenly the lights began to turn off, and the rain started pouring. The group decided to go back inside, entering from the back of the dirty kitchen where they found Gwen and her friends talking seriously about something in the middle of the place.
Karma's eyes traveled on to Harry and Allie, who seemed to have disappeared all of the sudden. She noticed Harry's gaze fell upon her, while her gaze fell upon his half unbuttoned shirt, and Allie's messy hair.
She shrugged, thinking they were old enough to make decisions for themselves—not that she approved of these decisions—she just wasn't in the position to mind their business.
"Hey, here." Grizz handed his hoodie to Karma, sitting on top of the counter. Beside him was an empty space, so Karma jumped to sit there, too. She felt a pain on her abdomen when she jumped and sat, but she didn't show it.
Grizz was one to push her to rest and probably won't stop asking her if she was okay if he had saw any sign of pain.
Jason sat beside on her right while Clark stood behind Gwen. Harry sat on the opposite side of the counter while Allie stood in front of him. At this moment, the lights flickered again.
Adonis walked inside the Kitchen with a girl and was dragging a drunk Leo by the arm.
"Hey, what happens when they go out for good?" Gwen questioned. People looked at each other and Karma leaned on Grizz' shoulder. "Who fixes them?" She questions again.
No one answers her, not really knowing what to say. "Im serious. Who turns them back on?" Gwen asks again. "Maybe they never go back on." Grizz said, Karma feels his chest move with every word.
"Hey you got any flashlights?" Jason asked Harry.
Harry shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe somewhere."
"It's in the cabinets right above the counters," Karma answered for him, rolling her eyes that Harry doesn't even know. Some eyes turned to the girl wearing a hoodie much too big for her. "Though I don't think it's of any use at the moment, I bet Harry hadn't charged them at all."
"Yeah, well she's right." Harry confessed, "Well, iPhone ones." He suggested.
"Battery's never gonna last." Adonis replied, leaning on the table. "All right, expedition to the hardware store for flashlights." Clark tells them and starts to move, clapping his hands. "Who's in?" He asks the group of people.
Jason nods and raises his hand, as well as Adonis and Grizz. Karma didn't need to raise hers, knowing that she'll be tagging along as usual. "I'll stay in the car, I think." Leo's voice was shaky, and clearly drunk.
"Yeah, no shit, Leo." Adonis told him.
The lights turned off again, and this time, it didn't turn back on. "Oh shit." Gwen cursed, as well as the people who started to murmur among themselves.
"We should get home." A girl suggested, Karma recognized her as the girl Leo was with before, but she couldn't exactly recall her name. "Before it gets really bad out there, before the streetlights go out."
"Well, you can all stay here." Harry spoke, looking at the crowd behind him. "If you want." Karma rolls her eyes, knowing that he didn't really mean it. If anything, Harry hated sharing his house, well, unless there was a party.
The lights turned back on and everyone looked up. "Well, Im going home." Helena speaks, standing properly from leaning and turns to walk out of the door. The girls from earlier also stood up and started to leave, amid the rain that met them outside.
Karma took off Grizz' hoodie, slightly bringing the shirt inside up as well. Without noticing, Grizz saw the huge bruise at the side of her stomach. "Here you go," She handed it back to him. "If you're going to raid a store, might as well have something comfortable on."
Grizz looked at her worriedly, not wanting to take the hoodie from her, but nevertheless accepted it. "You can wear it, you know."
"Nah, im fine with this." She points out her white shirt.
They drove towards the hardware store, noticing a lot of people had already started breaking the glass doors and taking what they wanted. Karma felt her anger level rising inside her chest, seeing how chaotic things looked.
"Shit," She cursed, making the others look at her. Adonis, who was driving, made sure to park the car a little far away incase people decided to break cars, too. Leo wouldn't want his precious morning to start with a hangover and a broken car.
The others, Grizz, Jason, Luke, and Clark used a different car and went before them. They parked right before the store, entering it first before Karma and Adonis could.
Karma stepped out of the car, leaving Leo. She didn't mind the rain pouring down on her nor how see through her white shirt had begun to look, getting all wet. The girl had to go inside the store and stop the kids from just taking all that they wanted.
Just before entering the store, she saw a guy getting pushed back by Jason, who started throwing punches. Clark on the other hand, was punched by a different guy that followed him outside. The others suddenly broke to a fight as well. In the corner of her eyes, Adonis shouted and tried to break Jason and the guy off, while Clark was getting punched by another guy.
Karma ran towards them, seeing red. All she wanted was some fucking flashlights and everything was just a mess.
"Hey, asshole!" She called at the guy who tried to aim another punch at Clark, kicking him straight in the stomach and knocking him down. She punched the guy at his jaw, sitting on top of him.
Clark's eyes went wide, looking at how angry Karma had begun. Harry and Allie arrived, looking shocked as well.
Karma punched the guy again, but she was elbowed on her abdomen where her bruise was, taking her off guard. The guy pushed Karma over, punching her in the face.
Upon seeing this, Jason, who was with Adonis, felt his anger rise. He approached them, but another random guy threw a punch at him, shifting his anger.
Karma groaned at the pain, but then she suddenly grinned and the boy looked at her like she was crazy. She spat the blood forming on her mouth. "You think you can knock me out cold with a single punch?" She chuckled deeply, running chills down the guys back.
"Try fucking harder," She tells him, kicking him in his crotch, making him roll to the side in pain. She punched him again, and again, and again, feeling her knuckles starting to bleed.
Suddenly, the car beside Karma exploded into flames. She didn't bother look at the explotion and continued to punch the guy.
"She's going to kill him!" Allie shouts, looking at Harry with wide eyes. Before Harry could move, Grizz pushed past him.
"Hey! Hey!" Grizz approached Karma while she was still throwing punches—and getting punched—and tried to stop her. He failed while trying to drag her away by Karma pushing him firmly aside. "This girl is fucking strong, help me get her!"
Jason approached her quickly after fighting off the other guy, not wasting another second. He threw Karma on his shoulders while she was still punching the guy. "Put me the fuck down, Jason!" She shouts, trying to get away.
"No way, Karma. You're beating him to death!" He drops Karma at the covered walk where Allie and Harry ran towards, right beside Gordie and Cassandra who gasped once she saw Karma being let down on the ground.
"Are you okay?!" Cassandra knelt down beside the girl, looking at her face. Karma had a swollen cheek, and a cut on her lip. She groaned, feeling a sudden pain in the side of her abdomen where the guy had kicked a moment ago.
"Jesus, Karma, let me see," Harry also aided to her side, holding her chin and making her turn to him.
"It's nothing I haven't had before, Harry." She shrugged, wiping the blood on her lips using her thumb. She tries to stand up, while Jason helped her steady herself.
Karma noticed Will and Kelly who were silent on the side, looking at the view before them.
Everything has gone to shit.
[ Becca's voice ]
In the town where we live,
the sun set today at 8:47 p.m.
Summer solstice.
Long days.
But our nights are
about to get a lot longer.
———————————
"What the hell happened to your face, Karma?"
Karma woke up earlier this morning to Avery—who thankfully was alright now—scolding her for getting into a fight, yet again. Avery was a mother to their group, always supporting them and cheering in the bleachers, but she hated whenever Karma was in a fight.
After explaining everything to the blonde girl, Karma was yet to face the true challenge: A sober Leo.
"I said, what the fuck happened to your face, Karma?" Leo cursed her, touching the bruise on her cheek. She flinched at his touch, still feeling the pain of it yesterday. Karma would never admit she's gotten rusty, claiming it's only half true, and her body's been a lot more sensitive with pain ever since they came here.
"No, you said hell earlier, not fuck."
"Don't even try to be a smart ass right now."
"I got into a fight, isn't the busted lip enough evidence?" She shrugged, taking a bite on her pancake sandwich.
"If it's going to form a scar, im going to choke you." He warns her, putting his sweater on as he sits down on his chair. "Calm your dick down, Leo, Gordie found some ointment at the supermarket yesterday." Karma replies, adding more bacon to her sandwich.
Leo groans and stirs his cup of coffee. "Pass me the cream." He tells Adonis who was busy reading a book. "That again? haven't you read that for, like, two times already?" Avery speaks from the corner, just coming down to eat after taking a shower, taking a piece of bacon from Karma's plate.
"Three, and yes. What Gordie said yesterday was important, and someone has to atleast learn about the stars and planets before the sun suddenly comes crashing down at this place." Adonis tells them, shutting the book close and starts cleaning the table.
"Let me," Karma offers, only to be declined.
"Hell no. Just go and take shower cause you still smell like alcohol and blood," He tells Karma. The girl chuckles at him and nods.
After taking a long warm shower, Karma wrapped her lower abdomen with a bandage to cover up the bruise. She also applied concealer to hide the bruise on her cheeks.
She changed in to a mustard v-neck sweater and some black skinny jeans, not wanting to put much effort in dressing up. Karma had received a text from Cassandra, saying they needed an only girls meeting at the church. She informed Avery who wore a white jumper and a blue shirt inside.
—————
Karma sat beside Avery in the platform at the church along with the other girls. She crossed her legs while leaning her back on the wall.
"Boys we thought we knew destroyed those stores last night," Cassandra started, "And if we don't do something, male testosterone is going to be the end of us."
"Is that why it's just girls here?" Avery asked.
Cassandra nodded at her, then looking back at the girls. "Right now it's just pillage." She tells them, "But how long until someone's raped walking home one night and no one gives a shit because thats just how it is?"
The girls nodded at Cassandra, thinking about it thoroughly.
"Okay, I'm sorry no one wanted to date you in high school, Cassandra, but this war on men feels a little extra." Gwen suddenly butts in.
"Shut the fuck up, Gwen." Kelly spats, making Karma raise her eyebrows amusingly at the girl who used to only be so quiet.
Avery chuckles at the side, "Yeah, I'm sorry the only ones who ever wanted to date you, Gwen, are the Karma rejects." She tells her, making the other girls laugh, including Allie.
Gwen zipped her mouth and tried to control her anger, but it didn't stop her to glare at Avery who only gave her funny faces.
"Everything that kept us safe is gone." Cassandra shifts back to the topic.
Karma nodded her head at this, "Cassandra's right. There isn't anyone to say no. And when you stop hearing no, you begin to think you can do anything."
"Women aren't safe in a world that's run by brute force and stupidity." Cassandra adds, eyeing the girls. Some of them spoke softly and agreed, while the other silently nodded.
"If we want peace, we need order," Karma says, making the girls look at her. "And to get order, we need to exert our power." She finishes, looking at Cassandra who smiled at her.
The girls nodded, thinking that they, too, have to start making a better change, and they have to do it now.
——————————
author's note
hey guys! i'm trying to figure out who's the actual love interest of Karma, since i'm currently torn between two guys. Right now you might notice i'm keeping the options open, dropping a few hints here and there incase i finally decide, and it would be easier to bond them both together.
For now, ship her with whoever you want! Im planning to actually show to you guys who her final love interest is on prom night, since a lot is going to be happening then 👀.
keep suggesting anything you guys want to happen, or who you guys want as her final love interest!
- keezii