The Shelter

Part 5 - The Parallel

xx-xx

The warping turned Karma's stomach upside down and it felt like hammers pounded inside her head, but it was soon over.

It was over.

Karma laughed. It probably sounded completely wrong and too high pitched, too out of place but they were out of the city. They were safe. It was all over.

She looked around. She saw the Eiffel tower, unscathed skyscrapers. She saw a beautiful city, one she'd always wanted to visit. There were shops with unbroken windows, full of clothes, supermarkets with food. The sunset was setting over the horizon and Karma thought it was one of the most beautiful sights in her life. She searched for signs of life around her, salty tears turning to ones of joy when she saw the others waiting for her. She ran towards their little huddle, hugging Pandora and Flair tightly when she saw them.

"We did it!" Karma yelled, her voice cracking. "We're out of there!"

Her heart panged in pain when she remembered everyone still on the other side of the portal.

She was not joined by the others in her joy. Everybody who'd gone through the portal was either gone already or huddle in small groups, head bowed in defeat. When Karma looked around again, she didn't see anybody else except them. Some bells rang in her head, telling her something was off. Where was all the help? Why were all the roads deserted?

"What's wrong?" She felt dread settle in her stomach at their silence. She saw Jeanine and Hail laughing at her in her mind.

Choose the better fate, we're all going to die! It's all POINTLESS!

"Where's Dalton?" his sister asked, her voice rising in fear. "Where is he?

Before Karma could get a word out, a shrill alarm rang out.

Karma covered her ears as everyone around her crumpled to the floor in pain. She writhed on the floor, not even hearing herself scream. Her helmet fell out, but it didn't make a difference. Her chest was contracting abnormally and she felt blood drip from her nose, tasted it on her tongue.

After an indefinite amount of time, it stopped and Karma lay breathing heavily on the ground, surrounded by other twisted bodies. She tried to reach and wipe her nose, but her arm spasm with the effort before dropping to the floor again. Her ears were ringing, her vision was blurred, and the hammers had doubled in her head.

What was that?

A woman's voice started talking out of nowhere, echoing around the street.

"Trial one, man-made disaster, has been completed by test group D," the monotone voice droned. The words appeared on neighbouring electronic screens on skyscrapers, which Karma read, numb to the world. "Trial two started, natural disaster."

Karma retched all over the pavement as the woman spoke the next four words. Those damned four words, ringing in the corner of her mind, always there.

"Save one person: yourself."

Karma looked at Oberon's scared face and saw Pandora's blotchy cheeks. She looked at everyone, haggard and barely alive. She saw people screaming, crying, yelling at the voice or at their God.

And something inside Karma broke when she saw a wave of water rise above the skyscrapers in the distance, heading straight towards them.

It was never going to end. It wasn't over. They'd just keep surviving. Over and over, until their bodies rotted and their legacy faded.

And she remembered the X's vision, the flooded building, the dead floating bodies, the broken paradise.

Save one person: yourself.

She breathed in and out and looked at everyone around her. The cowboy wannabe, the hopeful leader, the bravest little girl she'd ever meet, the musician, the mother hen. She grabbed her helmet, putting it on, before shouting instructions at her family, running towards the highest skyscraper. She hoped they'd make it in time before the wave hit. They ran in the door, climbing the steps as fast as they could, followed by other people who'd seen the wave, those who could still run.

Just keep surviving.

She tightened her grip on Flair's hand, helped Pandora back up when she tripped and shouted at Carrie to hurry up.

Just keep surviving.

oo-oo

It's the day before Christmas eve. Karma has invited Derrick, Sergio, and Raine over to celebrate before they all go their own ways on Christmas day. They are currently all sitting on the sofa, passing around presents which are poorly wrapped up. The sound of laughter and jokes is constantly in the air, lifting the mood up.

Her moms watch over their idiocy, as Derrick tests his new micro drone, losing sight of it within seconds. Sergio is wearing Santa's beard, daring anyone to try and make out with him. Raine has managed to trick Karma's brother into being a test subject for her new sink-in makeup, which your skin apparently absorbs completely. It creates a flawless, bumpless look.

Karma glances outside the window, chuckling when it starts snowing. Karma's heart feels so full. With the fire and good atmosphere, she feels at peace, surrounded by her family.

A movement catches her eye, at the end of the street. It's so faint, she almost misses it. There's a group of people: a tall blonde guy with his arm around a small girl in a pink shirt, two older teens bickering, a dark-skinned woman talking to a thirty-year-old man who holds himself with an air of ease. Karma's heart twinges with love at the sight of all those people, almost as if they were all connected somehow as if her heart had a string linking her to all those strangers. It's like a survival instinct, telling her she belongs with them, out there on the streets.

Karma jumps as Derrick falls into the Christmas tree, letting out a high-pitched squeal. Luckily, it's holographic and none of the ornaments break. She can see her moms holding each other up as they try not to crumple over and die of laughter. Sergio is helping Derrick up whilst Raine commentates the scene with a monotone drawl.

A sudden panic grips Karma as if she's just missed something important. Something is slipping from her grasp, and she can't hold onto it.

She throws one last look out of the window, but all she sees is the street covered with snow. She feels an emptiness form in her heart at the lack of strangers.

Suddenly hearing Derrick call, Karma shakes the weird funk off, joining her friends.

In parallel, outside in the frigid scenery, an identical girl (maybe a bit older, her eyes a bit duller, and gloves that don't quite seem to fit perfectly on the right hand), barely a mirage, runs towards her patchwork family, and the wind whispers a familiar phrase that echoes through the vacant street.