Chasing Butterflies (Anomaly Saga #3)

[9]

A yarn man stood in front of us, holding a yarn lantern somehow emitting yarn light. He wore a yarn hat with yarn goggles on it, and he wore a yarn aviator jacket.

"Leo?" asked Jenna, stepping forward tentatively. "Is . . . is that you?"

Yarn Leo tilted his head. "No. I am a representation of the future."

"What do you mean?"

"I am representing a human. A human who will come to my world in the future."

"Leo?"

"If that is what you call him."

I examined Yarn Leo carefully. He was pretty creepy. His button eyes moved when he talked. "Wait," I said. "Is Leo like . . . the chosen one?"

Yarn Leo shook his head. "I could represent any of the humans destined to come to our world, whether they be good or evil. This one has a personal connection to her." He pointed at Jenna.

Jenna looked away from him. "Let's stop talking about this. You said something earlier about us being stuck here if we did nothing. What can we do to escape?"

"Ah." Yarn Leo nodded. "You must answer three questions, and you must answer them honestly. If you open yourselves to the truth, with no chains holding you down, nothing keeping you back, then you will find yourselves ready to face the Destroyer of Worlds."

"I . . . okay." I glanced back behind me. "Why didn't Chaps join us?"

Yarn Leo made a strange, yarn-like sound. "Chaps is a skeleton. He has no heart, and so his answers would never be as effective as yours."

"Wow. Where is he now, then?"

"He is taking the route above us. You will meet him again once you answer my questions."

Jenna nodded determinedly. "Go ahead, then. Ask away. I'm ready."

"Question number one - what do you love most?"

"Well, that's an easy one," I said. "My sister."

Jenna looked at me and then Yarn Leo, as if determining whether she loved the real Leo or me more. Finally, and to my relief, she looked at me again and said, "My brother." We exchanged smiles.

"Very good," said Yarn Leo. "Now - what do you fear most?"

Jenna stiffened. What did we fear most? Several ideas crossed my mind. I guess the obvious thing would be to say losing each other, if it connected with the first answers, I thought. But, there were certainly other things that terrified me.

"Uh, well," I stammered. "I guess it depends . . . on . . . the situation."

Yarn Leo nodded slowly. "I suppose that makes sense. I'll let you off of the hook for now, but I'd like a more definitive answer from Jenna."

I couldn't see her eyes.

"I . . . I don't know," Jenna said, avoiding eye contact.

"You're lying," said Yarn Leo, tilting his head slightly. "You must say the truth."

"Well . . . I guess I'm afraid of failure. I always have been. Especially failure with devastating consequences."

"Hmm." Yarn Leo nodded. "That's somewhat truthful. It will suffice." He looked over at me again. "Final question. Do you trust Chaps?"

The question caught me off guard. "I . . . guess so? He's pretty cool. I mean-"

"No," said Jenna.

Yarn Leo stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded. "There is no right answer to that question. Chaps is difficult to read. He's been around so long that he knows almost everything. Anyone with that kind of knowledge is someone to be respected, and simultaneously feared."

He stepped aside. "You may pass. Chaps will be waiting for you in the Destroyer of Worlds' room. What happens next is up to you."

Jenna and I silently made our way past him and through the next door.

The next room didn't look like a room at all. An orange and red evening sky hung above us, stretching out for miles. The floor was smooth and covered in a very shallow layer of water, orange because of the sky's reflection.

Suddenly, Chaps fell from the sky and landed next to us. "Well, that was bothersome," he said. "Anyway, we're here! Are we ready to play the First Song Ever Recorded for our friend the Destroyer of Worlds?" He gestured towards the phonograph under his left arm.

"I think so," I said.

Jenna didn't say anything.

"Oh, no," said Chaps, his voice quiet.

I looked around, seeing nothing but the empty expanse of water and sky. "What? What is it?"

"The Destroyer," said Chaps, pointing just ahead of us. "It's awake."

I looked where he was pointing and saw nothing but a single white butterfly. "That is the Destroyer of Worlds?!" I exclaimed.

Chaps nodded. "Do not underestimate its power. Oh, if only I hadn't forced you to give up that butterfly net!"

I reached into my back pocket, pulled out the net, and smiled. "If only."