Elizabeth Arrow finds herself facing the destruction of her entire world. To add to this, her angel little sister is missing. She is devastated, but then one day, a mysterious golden butterfly flutters past her dwelling, signaling hope. It leads her...
I stopped abruptly at the edge of the roof after the rest of the group had jumped off, scared for my life and wondering if there was another option. I looked back at the hungry zherti behind me and realized there was no choice. I breathed in, closing my eyes. I thought about my sister, about saving her, about saving the world. I opened my eyes and went to jump.
I did it wrong, of course, and it was more of a trip than a jump. I plummeted down the side of the building, clawing at the walls for my life. Luckily, a hand from above reached out and grabbbed at my kicking foot, dragging me back up the house. My skin scraped across the concrete, and I also noticed that I had broken a fingernail and it had started to bleed. I finally reached the roof and sat down, only to notice I had been captured by one of the monsters. A zherti.
I screamed and got up to jump back down, but I was so battered and bruised that I just began staggering, and with a sway fell right back into my seat. The zherti made a strange, electronic sound, almost like laughing, and pressed its claws into me. I tried fighting back, but flailing my arms was useless. They had gotten me.
My thoughts became muddled and I noticed that my skin began to grey. I didn't care, though, for I was serving my master. Mmm. Yes. My goal was to overtake this planet for him, to purify its hideous inhabitants. I could feel it, the shlopp of his blood pulsing through my veins as I felt a sharp-toothed grin spread on my face. My vision was obscured, but I knew what I had to do.
Then I heard a human yell and a slashing of a blade as my nearby fellow servant burst into orange flames. I heard a sob, and something hard and cold was pressed onto me. I tried to push it off, but then it gave me a feeling of cleanliness. It was healing me. My vision returned and my skin changed back. My blood flowed normally and my thoughts were no longer about this 'master'.
When I finally returned to normal, I looked up to see a tear-streaked Zachary holding the flaming sword against me whilst a seemingly distraught Pamela hovered over us in horror. My hands were cupped, and I noticed the golden butterfly was resting in them. I groaned and sat up, carefully holding her in my palms.
"What happened?" I mumbled.
Pamela turned to me and slowly got on her knees, "Elizabeth," she whispered, "You're awake."
Zachary gasped, pulling the sword away from me. He placed it on the floor and turned his attention to me. He fixed his gaze on Origami.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"She hurt herself to save you," came a whisper, "and we're not sure if she's okay."
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