Butterfly Butterfly 3/6/68

Prologue: Runaways

Prologue
Runaways

I sit quietly under a tree by the door. The science lady will be here soon. The doors slide open and a young woman sweeps inside.

"Ryu!" She whispers.

I come out of hiding, "I'm here." I whisper.

"Come on. We have to pick up Aponichepi before we leave." She explains placing me in a laundry cart and covering me with clothes. A few minutes later I'm uncovered and a small black haired girl is put in with me. "Shhh," the science lady shushes us and covers us up again.

I look at the girl in the dim light amazed. I've never seen a girl like me before. I've seen the science lady but she doesn't count because she's a human. The girl has shoulder length black hair and big bright blue eyes. She's looking at me just as amazed.

The surface the cart's going over gets bumpy and comes to a stop. We're uncovered again by the lady, "Quickly. Get in my car." She says lifting us out and looking around nervously. We get in the back seat and she gets up front then hits the gas. We go peeling out of the parking lot with a loud squeel and onto the highway. We get jostled around a little without our seatbelts but we're fine.

I turn to the girl to see she's staring out the window at the night sky. "My name is Ryumakani, what's your name." I ask her.

She looks at me surprised, "I'm Aponichepi."

"That's really hard to pronounce. Can I call you Aponichi instead?" I ask shyly.

"Sure, and I'll call you Ryu." She smiles. She looks at the science lady, "Where are we going?"

"My house. My sister is already there. Ryu, you'll go with her. She's taking you out of town. Aponichepi, you're staying with me. We'll be moving in a couple months to another state." She says anxiously.

"Why?" She asks.

"To get you far away from Dr. Taven. I've also created an injection that'll slow your aging process. You'll both go to sleep for fourty or so years so that you're harder to track. It'll hopefully also undo a few errors. You might not understand now but when you're grown up it'll stop your wings from producing sedatives that make Butterflies docile and Dragonflies skittish. You'll both be able to live normal lives." She explains.

I look at the girl's back and feel my own, "We don't have wings though."

"Not yet. You will one day." She replies. "We're here. Hurry inside." She orders.

We get out and she ushers us inside. There another young woman is waiting. I yawn and start to feel sleepy.

"This is my sister. Ryu, she'll be your new mother." The science lady explains but my mind is foggy. "Lets put them to bed." The lady says to her sister.

When I woke up the next day it was to a whole new life.