1- Karma

From Karma's point of view

I’m scared the loud beating of my heart will give me away. No matter how hard I try to control my breathing and calm down, my heart refuses to stay quiet. Even in this closed, hidden space, his sensitive ears will be able to pick up on my location if I can’t get it under control.  I strain to listen for his footsteps, closing my eyes against the already pitch black of the room. Faintly, I hear him shuffle in the room below me, his movements careless as his search for me becomes frantic.

I wrap my arms around my body tightly, shivering and silently praying that he doesn’t find me.  After almost a minute of listening to him search beneath me, he moves on to a different room of the house. Suddenly I realize that he knows I’m in here somewhere. Knowing him, he will tear this house to the ground to find me.

I sit in the attic of an abandoned house, hiding from the man that wants my life.  If I can’t find a way out of here soon without attracting his attention, then there’s nothing to stop him from getting what he wants. I press the heels of my hands against my face. There’s no way I can escape him. But I can’t just sit here and accept my fate, though I’m sure it’s already sealed.

Freedom.  It’s all I’ve ever wanted. No matter how much ive had to endure, Ive never stopped trying to protect that one thing. Of course, I'm actually pretty lucky. I've had a lot more freedom than others like me.

Other humans weren’t so lucky.

Since the takeover fifty years ago, the Scolaris have ruled over humankind, treating us as nothing more than walking meals. I am one of the rare humans born free in one of the human colonies outside of the big cities, where the Scolaris swarmed.  The free humans aren’t well off, they are the ones who break their backs doing the hard and disgusting jobs no one wants to do for barely any money.

There are three different types of scolaris. The most common are called Aimas, they survive off of human blood and are often called vampires by the human community. The second most common is a much worse breed called Feras. They consumed human flesh. The Aimas were very intelligent and powerful, where the Feras are usually pretty stupid, and very vicious.

At the top of the Scolaris food chain are Contras, who feed off of thoughts and emotions. They rule the scolaris, and human, world.

Each year, the oldest children of the free humans are harvested for food. The luckier ones are sent to the Aimas and Contras, but a large portion are given to the Feras, where they are almost immediately devoured by the feral beings.

A lot of Aimas and Contras keep Feras for one purpose; to track down runaway humans and make examples of them.

Currently, I am hiding from Jaxx, the local Aima that’s in charge of rounding up the children to bring to the auction. Since I have chosen to run away from the gathering, which is where each human in town is forced to meet in order to give their children away to be sold, I will most likely be killed by this man in a painful way. I will be an example to the other kids that want to try and escape.

Aimas are superior to humans in a lot of ways. They have better sight, hearing and are stronger and swifter than humans in general.  Luckily, Jaxx is a very low ranking Aima, so his senses aren’t as sharp as others.  That doesn’t mean I'm in the clear.

Jaxx knows I'm here, or he wouldn’t be spending so much time searching for me in this particular house.  I just hope he isn’t able to find the entrance to the attic. Minutes pass by, each second causing my nerves to tense up in anticipation of being discovered.

At last I hear him sigh and leave through the front door. I wait a few more minutes just in case hes still near before I slowly open the attics entrance. A few nervus glances about the room and I decide hes not there anymore.

A low chuckle causes me to freeze. Every nerve in my body tingles as I turn my head toward the sound.  Standing there, in the doorway is a scolaris. His eyes are a bright, inhuman shade of green, his hair is wavy and sandy blond. He is beautiful. Of course, a scolaris’ looks are just perfect in order to seduce their prey, to make us drop our guard. Then they devour us.

I slowly begin to back up, causing the man to smile like a Cheshire cat.  His teeth are straight and white, a perfect smile.  His eyes captivate me. Now that I look closer, it seems as only the outer edge of the irises are green, and the insides are smoky blue. They are the color of the sea after a storm.

His stance is relaxed, as if he doesn’t sense an immediate threat. I want to prove him wrong. I try to make myself seem relaxed, “Hello there. I'm going to assume you’re here to capture me?”

A deep laugh rips out of his throat, a hardy sound that causes my already erratic heartbeat to quicken.  “I think you have me confused with that pitiful Aima I watched search for you.  I could tell you were in that attic the moment I set foot in here. Nice hiding spot by the way, no human would have been able to find you.”

Of course no human would have been able to find me.  It’s not humans I'm worried about. I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Too bad it wasn’t a good enough hiding place to fool a scolaris like yourself.” I smile, but it feels forced. “But I'm sure you already knew that.”

No change in expression comes from him. “Of course I know that,” he says, eying me carefully, “Or I wouldn’t be talking to you now, would i?”

I cross my arms in front of me, watching him. His stance is relaxed, but a Scolaris could attack at any time without warning.  If I can keep him talking, maybe I can find a way to escape.

“Of course.  So who are you anyway? One of Jaxx’s helpers?” Though I really don’t care who he is, I just want to keep him busy while I think of a way to get out of here.

He chuckles, lowering his gaze and leaning against the wall. Lowering his defenses.  “One of his helpers? He’s just a sorry excuse for an Aima. A contra like me would never have anything to do with him.”

I freeze. Did he just say he’s a contra? No, that can’t be right. The contras are the most powerful and feared beings in the world, and to have one standing in front of me- it can’t be real. My body refuses to move as I stare in awe at this man. He could’ve just been any regular Aima, nothing seemed special about him. The usual regal air that follows the other contras when they’re on television is missing from him.

He continues to smile, but it seems menacing now. I guess that’s because I now know what he is. “What’s wrong? Do you not get many Contras in this section of town?” His tone is light and playful, but I can tell that there is a power behind it. 

“It seems like they prefer to avoid where their food is stored,” I say. I cringe when I realize how much of a smartass I am.  Contras don’t take kindly to disrespectful humans.

He laughs. “Yes that’s true, but I’m here to help you, Karma.”

I cringe, and step back. How does he know my name? I’ve never talked to any contra in my life, and I have no reason for one to know who I am. If he knows my name, no doubt he knows of my escape from the auction. By help me he must mean kill me.

I turn on my heel and begin running as fast as I can. I tear through the house, knocking over lamps and tables, anything I can to try and slow him down.  I hear him curse behind me, but I don’t risk a look back.  Soon I reach the front door, but before i can reach the doorknob, it swings open.

Jaxx is standing there with a maniacal grin. My heart stops. There’s no way I can survive this.

Right as I’m about to give up, a hand grabs my own and pulls me off my feet.  The contra stands behind me, holding my wrist tightly. I cringe, but his grip doesn’t hurt.  

“Ah Jaxx, still bullying little human girls I see?” The contra mocks Jaxx.

Jaxx seems dumbfounded.  “Russell, what the hell are you doing here?”

“You mean what am I doing alive? You’ll find it takes a lot more to kill me than what you can manage.”

Jaxx is seething with rage. His whole body shakes as he fixates the full power of his glare on Russell.  “that doesn’t mean I can’t try,” he says below his breath.

In a flash, Jaxx is gone, as is Russell. I’m left alone in the foyer of the house, looking around confused. Then I hear shouts to my left. Russell has Jaxx by the throat, and the two fight too quickly for my eyes to follow. 

The two are blurs as they race about the room, toppling over furniture and denting the walls and floors. I hear Jaxx grunt as he is slammed against the floor by Russell.  They both pause long enough for me to get a good look at them. Russell has a nasty cut above his eyebrow, which leaks blood down the side of his face. Beside that he looks unhurt. Jaxx on the other hand is covered in cuts and bruises. His lip is split and his face is a mess of scarlet blood.

I edge closer to the door, trying not to draw attention to myself. The two Scolaris are too focused on their fight to notice me quietly slip out the door and into the cool night air.