CHAPTER TWO: KARMA'S A BITCH

  SEB awoke with a startle, clutching his chest.

  Argh! That ache!

  I got hit by a plasma bolt – or whatever sort of strange magic that was – in my chest, and afterwards … Wait, how did I survive that? I was lying in that forest clearing, close to death, and then–

  “Mornin’, sunshine.”

  He rolled off of the bed, trying desperately to find any sort of weapon to defend himself, but it was no use. He looked up to face the voice, arms raised half-heartedly in defence, and was surprised by what he saw.

  It was a woman: an intimidating, sturdy woman in her early twenties with a peculiar set of goggles on her head and an outrageously vibrant outfit on. Her dirty blue overalls jostled over her shirt and leggings, which were differing shades of dark and light orange, and her boots were murky brown with a set of pink socks underneath. Her long purple hair ruffled as she tore off her goggles, revealing a stunning pair of dark red eyes underneath. The overload of colour gave Seb a headache.

  “Easy now, Hotshot,” she soothed. “Don’t strain yourself.”

  She walked over to Seb and eased him back onto the bed, tucking him under the sheets. It was only then that he realised how much pain his entire body was in.

  “Ya need to rest, got it?” the woman insisted. “Ya were in a rough state when I found ya. It’s gonna take a couple of nights to sleep that off.”

  Seb curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth on the soft, feathery mattress.

  “How did … you did … huh?”

  “Ya no speak words no good, Hotshot? C’mon, tell me your name first of all.”

  Glancing around at the room, he noticed for the first time just how strange his surroundings were. The ground was littered with hay and empty sacks, the walls were made of wooden planks with sprawling vines creeping down the sides, and the sunlight punctured the many egregious holes in the roof. Even stranger, the door to the room was decorated with quite marvelous paintings and sketches, each one depicting a vast scene from a battle.

  “Uh … Seb. Did you paint those?”

  He gestured over to the paintings. The woman chuckled when she realised what he was referring to.

  “Yeah, I painted those. You’re a funny little man, Seb. That wasn’t the first question I was expectin’. How ‘bout ya ask for my name?”

  “Erm … Sure. You can tell me if you like.”

  She let out a sigh. “Karma. Karma Daybreak. Lovely to make your acquaintance. Now, Seb, I don’t think ya realise just how lucky ya are.”

  Seb paused for a moment, straining to remember the horrors of what happened.

  “Did you … save me? From those men?”

  “Sure did! Scared ‘em right off, left ‘em runnin’ with their tails between their legs before I even needed to raise a finger. Those pansies need to grow a pair before they mess with ol’ Karma Daybreak!”

  Only scared them, huh? That’s not how I remember it …

  “But those flames … That was you, wasn’t it?” he asked.

  “Wow, that must be the fever talkin’.” Karma shook her head, concerned. “Ya’d better rest. I don’t want ya heatin’ up.”

  She picked up a plasma rifle – a long, metallic weapon with a split muzzle, painted pink – that had been resting against the bed, and headed for the door.

  “Hang on!” Seb called out, stopping her in her tracks. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, and I guess I should be counting my lucky stars, but I should be dead! How did I survive that?”

  Karma turned around, a solemn look on her face.

  “What’s to say ya did survive?”

  Seb’s jaw dropped and his cheeks paled.

  “Nah, just messin’ with ya!” A sly grin crossed her face. Seb exhaled in relief, but his chest heaved in pain as a result. “But I think ya should rest first before I tell ya … Don’t wanna frighten ya to death.”

  With that, she yanked open the door and left, closing it with a slam.

  She doesn’t want to frighten me? What is she talking about?

  His weary mind couldn’t handle the impossible questions. Before he could conjure up some satisfying answers, he drifted off into the world of sleep once more.

  * * *

  A week passed before Seb mustered enough strength to sit up in bed on his own. One morning, Karma came in with her usual breakfast supply of crusty bread and cheese, looking more excited than usual.

  “Ah, you’re awake!” she beamed. “You’re doing remarkably well, everythin’ considered.”

  She set the breakfast tray to one side and placed a warm palm on Seb’s forehead. “Would ya look at that – fever’s all but gone as well! I’ll have ya workin’ in no time!”

  “Sorry, did you say ‘working’?”

  “Oh yeah … Forgot to mention, but once you’re up and runnin’ you’ll be returnin’ the favour. Y’know, for savin’ and nurturin’ ya back to health and all that.” Karma’s brow furrowed. “By the way, have ya discovered … it yet?”

  Seb shook his head, utterly confused.

  “I’m not surprised. Ya’ve barely been able to move at all.” She pondered something before making her decision. “There’s no use delayin’ the inevitable, I suppose. C’mon, let me raise your shirt.”

  Seb leant back on the bed, suddenly anxious and hesitant, but a wave of warmth from Karma’s pretty, welcoming eyes calmed him down. It took more effort than he’d care to admit, but with her help he managed to raise his arms and get his shirt off.

  “Alright … Look down.”

  It was a weird request, but he went along with it. What he saw was the last thing he was expecting. A cold sweat enveloped his body as he laid his eyes upon the horrible truth.

  His chest was completely transparent – a glass pane had replaced the majority of his torso. Seb could see the inside of his body, from the fleshy muscles lining his stomach to the squelching intestines that snaked around his gut. He struggled to breathe, but any short gasps he could muster were met with an inflation of the lungs, which would grow and then retract back to behind his field of view. To have his innards exposed, for all to see … he almost wished had died instead.

  The centrepiece of this living sculpture, the thing lighting up his insides for all to see, was his heart – at least, the place in his body where the heart should have been. A pink crystal, similar to the one used by the attacker who shot him with an enhanced plasma bolt, yet more awe-inspiring and refined than even that imperfect gem, pulsed waves of glorious pink light onto his organs. Now that his shirt was off, this pulsating light crept into even the furthest corners of the room, challenging the beams of sunlight overhead.

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  What … What is this? What has she done to me? She’s turned me into a monster!

  Karma stared into the crystal, never blinking as she admired its beauty.

  “Awesome, ain’t it?” she remarked. “I fixed ya up myself. It was the only way to keep your body tickin’ over after your heart stopped beatin’.”

  Seb scrambled off the bed in a panicked daze, crawling around on the floor as he tried to clamber as far away from her as possible.

  “You … you sick freak!” he spluttered. “You did this to me? I’ll … I’ll kill you!”

  “Now, that’s no way to thank the lady who just saved your life. Think of it this way – you’re more badass than ya’ve ever been before!”

  Seb couldn’t help it – he let out a wailing cry of pain and frustration. What had he become? Was he some sort of … machine? This crystal heart the core that kept the structure beating?

  “I’m quite impressed with how it turned out, truth be told.” Karma was still in awe of her handiwork. “I don’t think anyone’s ever had the courage and expertise to perform this kinda experimental transplant. You’re lucky it was me that found ya!”

  She swung the door open, letting the unbearable rays of morning sunlight illuminate the dim room.

  “Y’know, I think some good ol’ fashioned manual labour will take your mind off it. Come.”

  A fresh breeze crept into Seb’s nostrils for what felt like the first time in years, although it tasted less sweet when he could envision the air swashing around his exposed lungs. He sighed. He had been bed-ridden for a good while now, and even he had to admit that a change of scenery could do him some good. Resting a tentative palm on his glass chest, which felt cold and alien to the touch, he made his way through the doorway and into the unknown beyond.

  Stepping outside, Seb trudged through the strangely dense sands, pausing every once in a while to kick silt from his bare feet. There was a dirt-like quality to these sands, resembling a crude mixture of desert and soil, which swallowed his feet with every step.

  My boots! He looked down at his clothes – a simple, unfamiliar white shirt and grey trouser pairing. My mercenary gear! Where has she taken my stuff?

  Looking up, he was taken aback by the overwhelming serenity of the scenery. There were a couple of fenced-in animal pens, one to each side of a gravel path which led to a large barn ahead. Next to this hulking wooden structure stood an admittedly less impressive shack – an afterthought, by the looks of it. This was where Karma had disappeared to, retrieving a rusted iron bucket and wiry hairbrush from within.

  On the way out of the shack she stopped to brush her Lesser Greymane, tied to a post and neighing in delight. She fed it some berries, fruits likely foraged from the nearby forest, and stroked its mane as it munched and drooled. Once it was full and stroked to a satisfactory level, it laid down on the ground, closing its eyes to rest.

  As calming as the place was, Seb couldn’t help but feel a slight unease – a sense of being boxed-in. This wasn’t the kind of farmstead he had visited before … In fact, there were no fields or crops to be found at all. Either side of this narrow strip of barn housing and animal pens were massive towers of rock and sandstone, casting shadows down onto the quaint abode below. At one end of this natural alley was the Desert of Amia he was used to, but at the other end the natural flora and fauna was starting to take over. It was much more akin to the Noble Forest of the north, and this intermediate stretch of land was a gorgeous blend of the two. Karma’s residence was obnoxiously rooted in the middle of this valley, blocking passage for any stray wanderers who would wish to cross into the other region.

  Although, Seb mused, something tells me the wanderers would know better than to stumble into this strange woman’s territory.

  Karma carried her bucket to a small pump in the ground near the barn, and while Seb was distracted by the intimidating surroundings she swiftly filled it with murky, brown water. The animals – pigs, chickens, and cows that had been caught and domesticated – frantically pushed and barged their way towards the hardwood fences, desperate for any drop of water. With expert precision, she lobbed half the bucket of liquid into one of the troughs, before turning around and emptying the rest of the water into the other pen’s trough.

  Seb edged forwards along the rough gravel path, trying as best as he could to ignore the pain of both his bare feet and his aching chest. He paused after every few steps to rest against the wooden fencing, trying not to disturb any of the animals drinking just a short distance away. That being said, the animals seemed far more interested in their murky water than the new visitor on their farm.

  Noticing his discomfort, Karma reached inside a pocket in her overalls to reveal a flimsy pair of sandals. She tossed them to his feet, gesturing to put them on.

  “Found ‘em lyin’ around at the back of a shelf. Used to belong to my ol’ man.” She pointed over Seb’s shoulder to the cabin he had walked out of, where he had been bed-ridden for the past few days. “I’ve got my own place nowadays, built from scratch, so I reckon ya can stay in his ol’ place while ya rest up.”

  “What about my gear?” he asked. “The clothes I was wearing?”

  “They’re in a safe place, I promise. I’ll hand ‘em back over once ya’ve healed … and once I’ve scrubbed the blood from ‘em.”

  Seb nodded, wincing, and reached for the sandals on the ground. He couldn’t bend over to put the sandals on without a surge of pain rising up through his torso, but with Karma’s help he slipped them on. They were clearly very old and worn, with a marked indent for each toe, but they seemed to fit.

  “Thank you … Karma.” He rested a palm on his forehead – still hot from the fever but much cooler than before. He still didn’t feel great, but he knew he would have been six feet under if not for this woman’s intervention – and the brisk autumnal breeze calmed him down enough for now. “I know I haven’t been the most … welcoming of your help, but you saved my life. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

  “Ha! Don’t go forgettin’ that any time soon! You’ll repay your fair share over the comin’ days and weeks, so don’t worry ‘bout it. Actually, ya can get started right now!”

  She thumped the bucket into Seb’s chest; the impact sent tremors throughout his whole body, but the transparent pane protecting his crystal heart shielded the blow. The bucket was heavy and cold, and when he peered inside he noticed a cluster of seeds and grains at the bottom.

  “Pretty strong stuff, right?” Karma boasted, tapping his artificial chest. “Glass like that is hard to come by. Should protect against most wear and tear – just try to not take another direct plasma hit, will ya?”

  She stood back, and the animals all squealed in unison as Seb held up the bucket of feed.

  “Give half to the pigs and cows, then half to that rabble over there,” she instructed. “Ya may be a stranger to ‘em now, but they’ll get used to ya.”

  Seb nodded and did as he was told. It wasn’t quite as elegantly done as when Karma had evenly dispatched the water, but after a few attempts of tossing and pausing for breath he successfully emptied the bucket into both of the pens. He handed the bucket back to her and propped up against the fencepost, exhausted.

  “I’ll just get ya doin’ the basics first – don’t wanna stretch ya thin just yet. After that chest of yours gets less painful, I’ll put ya up to other jobs on the farm.”

  Karma’s expression darkened. “One rule while you’re here, though – and this’ll be the only rule – no steppin’ foot in my shack. That’s my personal space, and that’s a boundary you ain’t willin’ to cross.”

  Seb glanced over at the pathetic little shack beside the barn, puzzled by its understated appearance.

  Is that really the only rule I need to follow? To stay away from that piece of junk?

  What could possibly be so important to her in that shack that I can’t even step foot inside?

  “Sure … but I’m not gonna stay here for that long, am I?” he asked. “Just enough to heal up and go, like a couple of weeks max?”

  Karma sighed, looking over his shoulder to the old cabin. “I’m not so sure about that, Hotshot. It took ya a month just to wake up in the first place. Who knows how long it’ll be before you’re good to go?”

  Seb swayed from side to side as his legs buckled underneath him, staggered by the sudden news.

  I’ve been asleep for a whole month? How is that possible?

  “W-What? How can … how can that … how can I have been–”

  ARGH!

  A pulsating pain echoed throughout his entire body, and an angry wave of pink light ebbed from his chest. His heart – his crystal heart – felt like it was on fire, like a dagger had been plunged into his very core. Above all else, it felt like he was back on that last job, when the enhanced plasma bolt had struck him.

  It felt like dying again.

  Seb’s vision went black, just for mere moments, but from this darkness a peculiar image swelled in his consciousness. It was that fateful day once more, when his whole world turned to fire and screams, and the strange figure had stooped over him.

  When he awoke a few seconds later, he was sprawled on the ground in Karma’s arms. She was hunched over him, not unlike the figure from the vision …

  In fact, the resemblance is remarkably similar.

  “Hey!” Karma shook him, anchoring him to the real world. “Easy now, Seb, don’t push yourself! Ya need to rest – your body must’ve not gotten used to the changes just yet.”

  “I … I saw … you,” he mumbled, fighting to stay awake. “You … turned my world … into fire …”

  “C’mon, Hotshot, you’re not makin’ sense anymore. Sounds like ya were just hallucinatin’, so get some rest for now. Don’t push yourself.”

  Seb’s entire body groaned with pain, and the invitation of rest was too alluring. He let the calm waves of sleep take over his eyes, his head, his body. Before he knew it, he was out cold.