You wake up in an unfamiliar room, trapped on the second story with only a window for escape. Blood is on the nightstand next to you and there's a note with a warning and an address, an address that will lead you to a shop filled with deadly secrets...
Karika's voice visits you as the butterfly flutters, catching itself as the wind tries to blow it away.
There's this butterfly. It's called a Glasswing Butterfly. Its wings are transparent and it's absolutely stunning. It's rare, and only lives in certain parts of the world. It isn't supposed to be here in the U.S., but... I've seen it. Quite a few times, actually, but, for the past year, I haven't. I thought it died. But lately, I've been thinking about it... and I think it lived. I think that maybe it was just waiting until someone could see it again.
A chill rushes through you and you catch your breath, suddenly cold.
I really, really hope that you never see it.
Not able to shake her words, you remove yourself from Chris's arms. He mutters something under his breath, still dreaming. You stand and walk over to the window just as the butterfly drops to the world below, and you watch as it lands on a flower on the first floor.
Wrapping Chris's jacket around you, you exit his small apartment and run barefooted down the stairs, looking for the flower and the butterfly. Just as you near it, it flits away. You curse at yourself for wanting to follow it, but do it anyway.
You don't follow it for long before you end up in a cemetery, an eerie sense of familiarity falling over you. The butterfly settles on a tombstone, one with something stained on the top of it.
Walking over, you see that it's a dark red.
Red like blood.
You stumble forward as a memory surfaces.
You're sitting in front of this tombstone, phone clutched in your dirty hands. Footsteps are getting closer, crunching on the dead leaves. You place a hand over your mouth to keep your breathing quiet.
Your phone vibrates, fear lacing across your body. What if they see the light coming from it?
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You type in the response, Okay. Please hurry, and close your eyes, pressing and holding the lock button to turn the phone off. As soon as you're able to push the red circle across the screen, you stuff the phone in your pants pocket and pull the hood up over your head, praying the man doesn't find you.
