Chapter 1
The girl began taking stock of the room as soon as she stepped through the doorway. A set of empty stairs had led her down to the basement of the town hall, but the cars parked outside in the municipal lot signalled at least a few late voters. It was 7:00 in the evening on Wednesday, November 8th, and the 2016 presidential results were already rolling in. Soon the polling station would close, and such a ripe opportunity wouldn't come around again for four more long years.
Sweeping her gaze across the municipal basement, the waifish girl liked what she saw. Tired looking white foam ceiling tiles alternated above with faintly buzzing fluorescent lights, dead flies visible through their yellowed acrylic canopies. They illuminated the pastel green cinderblocks and grimy, flecked linoleum that adorns every government building ever built; the space sordid, tawdry, and perfectly suited for tonight's work.
Across the room from the basement door a neat row of voting booths lined the far wall, dusty curtained niches divided by cracked vinyl panels. The girl could see one set of feet below a shifting beige curtain, workboots and the tattered cuffs of a pair of old jeans just barely visible. The other booths appeared to be empty for the time being. Next to them, two old rectangular folding tables were set up end to end, their faux wood veneer badly scarred and pitted, veterans of decades of service. A number of gray steel folding chairs were pushed in behind them, seating two women and one middle-aged man. Two young girls that looked like they couldn't possibly be more than a year or so out of high school stood across the tables from them, one signing her name in a register and the other apparently in the act of arguing with one of the older women.
No one looked over when the rather unremarkable newcomer slipped around the corner of the door. If they had, they would have seen something in her eyes that they might not have liked. They may even have tried to run, but they wouldn't have gotten far. In the face of omnipotence there's only so much one can do, and it was now far too late to change their fates. You reap what you sow, and karma can truly be a bitch sometimes.
The girl paused about 10 feet away from the tables, turned squarely to face the four election officials behind them, and cleared her throat. The noise echoed throughout the suddenly silent room with improbable clarity, like the crisp tone of a churchbell in winter. The arguing woman trailed off mid-sentence as her eyes turned towards the new girl, her three companions shifting their attention as well. The two young girls whirled around in surprise, and one opened her mouth as if about to say something. She seemed to pause, reconsider, and then repeated the action. Confusion dawned in her eyes and quickly began to escalate into panic. She couldn't speak, what's more she couldn't move her feet, and the other people around the table were just beginning to realize that they were in the same predicament as well.
As realization dawned and restrained panic ensued, the young woman simply stood where she was with her arms crossed. A faint smile began growing at the corner of one mouth as she raised one slender finger to her cheek, and in an instant all six of her captives turned in place to look at her and froze.
"Evenin' everybody," she drawled in a light midwestern accent bordered with the unmistakeable tinge of whiskey and cigarettes.
"How we all doing tonight? Everyone feeling pleased with themselves for doin' their civic duty? Congratulations! Points for botherin' to vote, but I'm afraid it won't get you very far with me. See, I'm more interested in whom you voted for, and this being a pretty conservative county, I'm willing to bet I know who you chose. Now, sure, it's a free country and you're entitled to your opinion, but so am I and spoiler alert: I'm not happy about yours."
She'd paced to the far end of the table, and now turned and winked at one of the young girls.
"Unfortunately for you, the authors of the constitution didn't exactly have me in mind when they wrote it."
She spoke this last part with a disconcertingly toothy grin, and took a moment to lean into the face of the nearest girl before drawing back and continuing, "But never mind that, I'm afraid I haven't properly introduced myself."
"You can call me Karma, and yes, I've heard all the jokes."
Chapter 2
Karma suddenly clapped her hands together, the noise startling in the silence, and bent forward at the waist. She gave a little mock bow and made a small gesture at the nearest poll official. The woman was seated at the end of the table closest to the door, and one glance was all it took to size her up.
About 67, her grey hair was tied back in a severe bun. Chunky gold jewelry flashed at her ears and fingers, and a pair of small steel-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Her eyes peered over them judgmentally, and her lips were habitually pursed in a sour, disapproving frown. She was dressed in a long grey skirt and conservative white blouse, which framed the thick rope of pearls that hung at her neck. A bland pair of beige heels adorned the woman's feet, adding about two and a half inches to her height.
"I've been so kind as to introduce myself! It would be terribly impolite of ya not to return the favor," Karma said with feigned petulance, her sardonic smile quirking up at the corners.
All of a sudden the woman's body jerked as some measure of movement was restored, and her mouth shot open, involuntarily emitting a strangled croak. Her eyes looked around wildly as she tried to sit up, but her legs still seemed to be beyond her control. Looking fearfully at the mysterious young woman, she finally managed to gasp out a single word.
"H-how?"
Karma threw back her head and let out a little laugh. "Does it matter? You really won't care about that at all in a bit. Right now all I need from you are a couple of simple answers to a couple of simple questions. Think you can do that? Good. Now, what's your name?"
"Peggy," the woman choked out, unable to stop herself.
"How... antiquated," Karma sneered, "Next question! Who did ya vote for?"
"Donald Trump!", the woman answered immediately, her hand flying to her mouth as soon as the words left it. She looked even more nonplussed than before as the hand slowly sank down to her chest, unconsciously clutching her necklace. Karma's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"That's what I thought."