Read by Alexandra Kenna (4min 40sec into podcast, here)
Anisha receives her first task at 2 p.m.
>Steal a hat from the souvenir stall at the entrance to the Cardiff Coffee Convention. You have 25 minutes.
Her heart thumps; her palms are sweaty. She can’t do this – she’s never even stolen a pen before! But the first message she got on the burner phone was clear: complete three tasks by the specified deadlines, or she will die and so will Nidra. Every Karma viewer knows of participants whose loved ones paid the price for failure or snitching. Anisha doesn’t understand how she ended up in Karma’s sights but she loves her little sister too much to risk it.
But. She has to keep going. She pushes her way through the crowd, with elbows where ‘excuse me’ and ‘sorry’ fails. At the front, she glances around. The stall owner is talking to some customers: nobody seems to be looking at her. One inhale. She walks by the stall, hooks a finger into the rim of a hat, and keeps going. When she’s far enough away, she exhales. The lights feel suddenly too bright; her mouth, too dry – but she did it.
She did it.
One down.
#
A few miles away, Will logs in.
‘Welcome back to Karma, viewer.’
He smiles and begins to flick through the feeds. He pauses on one. A woman is putting on a hotdog hat, looking distinctly uncomfortable. He glances at the summary under the feed.
‘You are watching: Anisha.
Crime: Murder.
Next task: Steal a personal item from Gethin (former Karma participant) of Gethin’s Coffi at the Cardiff Coffee Convention by 3 p.m.
Viewers: 296.
Vote to increase difficulty: here
#justiceforthepeople’
He settles in with a smile.
#
By 2:56 p.m., Anisha wishes Gethin would stop talking about coffee. Her heart pounds frantically as she stands in the crowd, waiting for an opening that just isn’t happening. The hotdog hat on her head doesn’t help – it’s itchy and uncomfortable, and she feels like everyone must be staring at it. She assumes the audience voted to increase difficulty and that’s why she’s been told to wear it. What does Karma say her crime is? She can’t think. She didn’t do anything wrong!
Focus. She has to focus.
Her eyes glance left where a nearby clock counts down time. She has three minutes to save her sister. Anisha gulps. Trembling hands become shaky fists again. She did this once, she can do it again. With another deep breath, she walks through the apparently captivated audience, towards the man himself. On impulse, she pretends to stumble, right into his stall. Coffee bags go flying; one even splits, beans spilling everywhere. Thankfully, Gethin helps her up. As she apologises, her hand slips into his pocket, closing around keys. She backs away, still apologising, and glances at that nearby clock.
2:59 p.m.
A smile tugs her lips, despite herself.
Just one more task and she’s home free.
#
A few miles away, comments pour in.
>WTF?
>She’s just stealing stuff
Will nods. He’s glad the other viewers are as livid as he is.
>First time Karma viewer here. I don’t get it. What’s the point of this?
Will types quickly.
>It’s justice, bro. Set a criminal some tasks and if they fuck up, they get an actual punishment – not whatever crap the system gave them. And if they survive, they’re fair game for future Karma tasks.
>Can’t snitch either. Snitches get stitches, amirite?
Will nods, even though nobody can see it. To be honest, he suspects the police approve: after all, Karma exists, if only on the dark web.
> But isn’t this kinda tame for murder? She’s just stealing crap.
Will smirks as his fingers fly over the keyboard:
>Definitely. Bitch should suffer.
The vote to increase difficulty skyrockets.
#
The burner phone chimes. Breath held, Anisha reads the message.
>By 3:30 pm, successfully fight or kill Owain at the Sustainability talk.
A picture of a man appears. Early twenties, bright blue eyes, and blond, scruffy hair. He looks joyful. Kind.
She nearly vomits.
#
A few miles away, Will checks Owain’s feed as Anisha’s new task appears. His crime? Torture.
Will grins. A murderer and a torturer? Couldn’t happen to two nicer people.
The chat agrees.
#
Anisha reaches the Sustainability talk at 3:10 p.m. and chokes. The talk is packed. What if she doesn’t find Owain?
Another thought: what if she does? Can she kill someone to save herself? To save Nidra? Her sister would never forgive her, she knows. Nidra is gentle, kind, loving – she’s probably never even heard of Karma. Everything Anisha’s done today would be incomprehensible to her.
It doesn’t matter. Anisha will pay any cost to keep her sister alive.
She straightens before shoving forwards, ignoring the grumbles of the crowd and the phones maybe pointed at her while trying to scan each face she passes. There are men, women, children of varying builds and skin colours. None of them match the man in the picture.
She keeps going, until she nudges past someone going in the opposite direction, looks up and –
Their eyes widen together.
Owain lunges.
It’s sudden. Vicious. People jump back as his hands close around her throat. Her mouth opens in a cut-off scream.
A woman grabs him. Startled, his grip loosens; Anisha breaks free. She can’t stop gasping as they regard each other warily. Owain’s teeth are bared like an animal’s; his desperate, terrified eyes reflect Anisha’s own. With a violent jerk, he breaks free of the woman’s grasp, stepping forwards. Anisha retreats, her shaking feet stumbling into each other.
Owain lunges again, lips curled in an almost-snarl. But this time, Anisha’s ready. She braces herself. Her arm swings, catching his head. It’s weak but still he staggers, surprised. A new stranger reaches for him, shock and resolve on their face.
Anisha can’t let them restrain him, she realises. If strangers stop Owain, she’ll probably fail the task. And if she fails the task, Nidra will –
She hurls herself forwards, knocking Owain to the ground. There, she hesitates. What’s ‘successful’? She doesn’t know so she smacks his head into the floor. He twists, slamming her onto her back. Her breath wheezes out; something metal tumbles from her pocket. Unthinkingly, she grabs it. His teeth glint as he looms above her.
When he reaches down, she thrusts up, fist colliding with his throat. He crashes backwards. Too late, she realises the something metal is jutting out from her fingers.
As she stands, she hears gasping. Blood pours from a puncture wound in Owain’s throat. Frantically, he mouths, “I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent!”
Gethin’s bloody, stolen keys fall from Anisha’s hand as she mouths the words right back.
#
A few miles away, Will watches the feed cut as the police arrive. At least the chat remains lively. Everyone agrees Owain got what he deserved. Hopefully, Anisha will get her comeuppance too. The courts are obviously useless: nobody’s even heard of her or her victim.
Will smiles.
Justice for the people. It comes to everyone eventually.
#
After the police release her, the burner phone chimes. Anisha nearly shrieks. She’s done three tasks. She’s killed someone – she’s only free because witnesses said it was obvious self-defence and Karma’s messages deleted themselves. What more can Karma want?
It doesn’t matter. She has to do this. Nidra must live. And Anisha …
Anisha knows what she deserves.
She opens the message.
>Destroy this phone. Take the phone from the bin behind you. Deliver it to the man living here.
>Congratulations on completing your tasks.
A sob escapes her.
It’s almost over.
#
A few miles away, the doorbell rings. Outside, a bruised woman waits.
“Anisha?”
Anisha nods, unfazed at Will’s recognition. She hands him a phone. A message appears:
‘Time for Karma, Will. Complete three tasks by the specified deadlines or Sammy dies.’
The world spins.
“But I didn’t do anything!”
“Nor me,” Anisha says quietly. “I just voted on Karma. But people died, didn’t they?” She snorts. “Maybe some really were heinous criminals. Who knows?”
He can’t speak.
“The person they’re threatening,” she says. “I hope they’re worth dying for.” Her hand touches her throat. Slashes, really. she swallows. “Mine is.”
His mouth dries. “You –”
“I’ll get what I deserve. Justice for the people, right?” She smiles sadly, fingers still gently cutting. “Goodbye, viewer. Enjoy karma.”
(c) Katie Lewis, 2024
Katie Lewis lives in the UK and works as a lawyer. When not talking taxes, Katie likes to write all kinds of things. She has had a few short stories published, & remains proudest of the one that caused her to accidentally snub a Prime Minister once.
Alexandra Kenna trained at Read College and Performance Preparation Academy. A published author, poet & self-proclaimed geek, Alexandra enjoys playing D&D with her friends, & has a passion for performing on stage, voice work & telling stories.
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