by Dawn Cano
Alex stared at Ryan as the blood soaked his shirt. “I'm sorry you had to learn about Karma the hard way.” She grabbed the keys from his hand and got out of the vehicle. Ryan was still alive, although barely, but Alex wanted him to suffer a little more before he died. She walked into the warehouse, rushing over to the woman who was chained to the table. Releasing her bonds, she looked at the woman. “It's okay. He's gone and you're safe now. Go. Run away, and don't look back.” The woman stared at Alex with tears in her eyes. “Go!” The woman flinched and ran out the door, and Alex hoped she kept running until she found help. Until then, Alex wanted to do one more thing.
She scanned the warehouse finding what she was looking for, a half-empty gas can. As she picked it up, she remembered how the gas smelled and felt as Ryan poured it on her skin. She remembered the blistering heat as the fire killed her. He deserved to feel everything she felt as she was burned alive.
Holding the gas can, Alex walked over to Ryan's toolbox and started rummaging around. She threw handfuls of tools on the floor until she found what she needed—a long lighter used for lighting candles and barbecue grills. Armed with the lighter and gasoline, she headed back outside. Alex poured a trail of gas from the front door of the warehouse to the SUV as Ryan weakly watched on, unable to stop her. She had to hurry if she was going to burn him alive.
Her mind raced as she kept pouring gas on the front of the vehicle all the way to the back. She dropped the gas can on the ground and walked back up to the warehouse door. She knew she couldn't be hurt, but she was still cautious as she lit the line of gas on fire, admiring the quickness with which it spread. In only a few seconds, fire burned across the hood of Ryan's SUV. Unfortunately, it looked as if he were already dead as the vehicle burned and eventually, exploded. Still angry but relieved, Alex walked back into the warehouse, taking one final look around. She walked into the office to discover a journal filled with dogeared pages and a pen. She flipped through the book, realizing it was a list of all Ryan's victims—each murder specifically detailed. One particular entry caught her attention.
The victim's name is Alex, she's around seventeen and a former prostitute who ran away from her pimp. The pimp wants me to cut out her tongue and after that, she's mine to do with as I please. She was easy enough to find and even easier to lure into my truck. All I had to do was buy her a meal and she was stupid enough to come with me. Once we got here, she was just like all the rest. She begged me to let her go and after removing her tongue to shut her up, I used my sharpest scissors to remove her lips. It's funny how happy a person looks without lips. Anyway, I set the bitch on fire once I was finished with her.
The journal entry didn't surprise Alex. She knew Ryan was a heartless killer, but she had the last laugh. She threw the journal on the floor and turned to leave the office as a voice interrupted her train of thought.
“What have you done?”
Miranda stood before Alex, blocking her exit from the room.
“I did what I had to do, Mom. I kept them from hurting anyone else. I couldn't live with myself if they did to other people what they did to me.”
Miranda walked over to Alexis and put her hand on her shoulder. “It is not up to you to dish out punishment to those who wronged you, Alex. You know that.”
“I know, and I don't care. It's done. They're gone.” She smiled a tired, lopsided smile. “When you left the second time, you told me to use my power for good. I can't think of a better way to do that than by ridding the world of three scumbags, can you? I'm ready to face my punishment, so let me get it over with. Just keep in mind that if you would have stuck around, or better yet, had you not given birth to me at all, none of this would have happened.”
Miranda knew she couldn't argue the point and remembered how much joy she felt when she discovered she was pregnant. Had she known what was to become of her life, and subsequently her daughter's life, she never would have conceived. Despite that, she knew there was no way to keep Alex's activities a secret. Too many people higher in the chain than she already knew. She took no pleasure in the knowledge that she had to kill Alex, and allow her soul to travel to its final resting place.
Miranda took a step toward her daughter. Alex held her ground, noticing the conflicting emotions in her mother's eyes as her tears fell.
“I'm sorry, Alexandra. I'm sorry I brought you into the world. I'm sorry for leaving you and I'm sorry for marrying that monster who was your father. I'm sorry you had to endure more pain than most people do in their entire lifetimes. I'm sorry for what I'm about to do now. I love you, my sweet girl. Be at peace.”
Alex cried as Miranda gently held her hand and stared into her eyes. She felt tired and weak and knew she could sleep for a week if given the chance. Her eyes became heavy, and she struggled to stay standing. As she fell to the floor, the last thing she said was, “I forgive you, Mom.”
Author's Notes:
Thank you for taking the time to read “I Am Karma.” I hope you enjoyed it. I've never written author's notes before and may never do so again, but in this case, I believe a few words are necessary.
This is a dark, depressing story depicting the ongoing abuse of a young girl, by many different people– something that happens far too often in today's world. Girls in these types of situations feel helpless and often lack the power to do anything to bring their abusers to justice, or to even find a way out for themselves.
In this story, Karma has power. She has the ability to punish those who have hurt her in the past. While I don't condone killing anyone, I did want to write a story in which a girl is given a way out, and I wanted to give the power back to the victim for a change, and see what happens when she has to face the consequences of her actions. Unfortunately, for many people living in these types of situations, power is often impossible to find.
If you know of someone—male or female—who needs your help, a person going through the type of hell Alex went through, please, be that person's Karma. Lend a hand or a friendly ear. Empower that person to make the best choices to help him/her out of the situation. You won't know the kind of difference you can make until you try. If we all tried to help someone less fortunate than ourselves a little every day, the world would be a far better place.
Wishing you much love and peace,
Dawn
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