Reaper ~ THG AU

Ch. 28: Butterflies

"That's so good..."

I sigh, looking down at the now empty jar of water I just chugged. Acacius is putting the other containers of water in the bags behind me, keeping an eye out for any threats. I move to fill back up the jar before screwing the lid back on and standing.

"We should get going...there's no telling how close the career pack is..."

"Okay..."

Acacius huffs as he slings his shoulder bag onto him. I sigh as I walk over, bending down to put the jar in my own shoulder bag. I know I called it a satchel before, but it's more like a small duffel...

"Which way?"

I zip up the bag before looking up towards my brother. I slip the bag over my head as he grabs his backpack. He slips his arm through the straps as I situated the strap that now digs into my neck.

"Not that way, I know for sure..."

I nod towards the way we came, down the hill and towards the cornucopia. Acacius let's out a small, short laugh as he adjusts his own straps. I grab my backpack, swinging it around before slipping both arms in at once.

"Oooo...fancy..."

"You're just mad that you can't do it..."

I bend down and grab my sword, sighing out as Acacius laughs once more. He pulls out a knife, tossing it repeatedly as I make sure we grabbed everything. I scoff, giving him a look over my shoulder.

"Now who's being fancy?"

"You're just mad that you can't do it..."

I laugh, shaking my head before taking a few steps towards the stream. I stop as I see something up in the sky.  It looks like a large mass, almost darkening the bright sun. It's not fast, it's not even one large being...

"What is that?"

"What?"

I point up, watching as the mass gets closer. I can make out a few forms, all identical as far as I can tell. As it grows closer, it finally dawns on me what it is.

"Butterflies?"

Acacius and I share a look, both of our faces confused. Butterflies aren't that surprising, it's the fact that they're traveling together like that. I've only ever known butterflies to travel in swarms when the old monarch butterflies used to migrate.

They grow closer, traveling faster than I originally thought. One gets within five feet of us, showing exactly what they look like. They look like the old monarch butterflies, but instead of orange, they're a bright red. It reminds me of when Briar and used to try and catch the butterflies in the meadows back home. I hold up my hand, waiting patiently for it to land on my finger.

A small smile fills my lips as it floats down, coming closer and closer...

"AHHHH!?!"

A shooting pain fills my arm, my entire body collapsing from the pain. My fingers feel red hot, as if I stuck them in a fire. I feel Acacius grab me up, pulling me along with my other hand. I find it hard to see for a moment, my vison blurry from the pain.

"Shit!"

I hear Acacius curse before coming to a holt. I can finally see straight, the pain dulling as I gasp for air. I look around, seeing two swarms moving towards us from opposite directions. We've barely moved ten feet and there seems to be no escape.

"The tarps! They can't get us through them!"

I yell, immediately digging into the side bag for the green one. Acacius helps me stretch it out, finding that it's larger than the black one in the other bag. I hear a few things fall out, hitting the ground with a loud thump. I'm too distracted by Acacius pulling me down and covering us both with the thick cloth.