Light Up The Night | One-Shots | Discontinued

Butterfly Maze ~ Dem Salty Bois

The butterfly marks appeared randomly. Sharp black outline on porcelain skin. They appeared in four specific places on the bodies of the victims - chest, neck, center of the upper back, and the backs of both hands. A group of four friends were the first to get the marks. The marks appeared the same day for all four, leaving them super confused and worried.

"Why is there a butterfly on my chest?"

"Since when did I get another tattoo and why is it on my neck?"

"Where did these two butterfly marks come from?"

"I was not planning on getting a tattoo, so why is there one on my back?!"

One of the four, a male by the name of Jeremiah, was the only one who didn't realize it at first. Despite the other three - Wade, Patrck, and Garuku - texting a group chat with the four about the mysterious marks, he failed to pay attention to the messages and instead called his girlfriend, Brycelyn, asking her if she would like to enjoy some time at the pool. At the pool was when the marking was noticed - Brycelyn saw the marking and asked Jeremy about it, who was clueless and started panicking.

Running up to his room, he slammed the door, slid down to the floor, and finally noticed the conversation in the group chat. Knowing he wasn't alone calmed him down some, but he was still panicked. His fingers could barely keep up with his brain as he typed a message in a rush of confusion and panic.

Jeremy:
Why do we all have a butterfly mark?!?!

Garuku:
Actually, I have two

Patrck:
I don't know  

Wade:
Jp has one too?

Wade:
Where is it?

Jeremy:
My back. Brycelyn noticed it when we were getting ready to go swimming.

Garuku:
This can't be a coincidence

Wade:
I agree

A knock on his door alerted the young male as the soft voice of his girlfriend asked, "Jeremy, can I come in?" Jeremy stood to let her in as she continued, "Are you okay? You just ran away from me after noticing the butterfly."

He sighed. "I'm just panicked and confused. Three of my friends also have a butterfly mark that appeared today."

"Just calm down, it's not a big deal. Come back down, okay?"

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Wade called Molly into his office to show her the marking. She softly brushed the marking with her fingers, certain that it was a tattoo. She went to ask where it came from when she noticed how perfect the butterfly was. The sharp black lines showed no evidence of being a tattoo. Shocked at the discovery, she asked, "When did it appear?"

"This morning," Wade responded. "Pat, Gar, and Jp also have markings exactly like this."

"This can't be a coincidence. Maybe you guys are like the chosen ones or something."

"That sounds ridiculous, Molly."

She shrugged. "It's just a theory."

"This isn't a fantasy. It's the real world, but I do think something is going to go down."

Within the group of the four, Garuku went strangely quiet. To the guys, he seemed to be slipping into depression or something of that nature, but in reality, he was consumed by the mystery upon them. His mind was constantly racing a thousand miles a minute, trying to solve the mystery behind the marks.

He looked down to his hands. They were a constant, stark reminder, the reason he always thought about it. The other guys at least had theirs out of their sight, but Gar just had to glance at his hands to see his.

At the same time, he was falling in love with a girl he hadn't met long ago. She had moved from Florida and had met Gar while he had been out walking his corgi, Dante. They hit it off really well, but it didn't mean Gar was scared to mention his marks. While they were obvious as hell, he found ways to hide them - until she got curious, that is.

"Gar," she softly said as she held both of his hands, despite them being mostly covered by sweatshirt sleeves, "why did you cover your hands? Are you cold somehow?"

He shook his head. "It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

He slowly pulled the sleeves from his hands and to reveal the markings. She went silent as she gingerly traced the butterflies with her fingers. She seemed too shocked to say anything, confused as to how they got on his hands. He took a deep breath and explained the markings. She listened intently, and when he finished, she asked, "Are you going to look for an answer?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he remarked. "I want to find answers for me and my friends."

She smiled. "You're the sweetest person I know, and that is why I love you. I'll help you if you need the help."

He returned the smile. "Thank you."

"Of course."

With help from the guys and some help from his girlfriend, Gar began digging deeper, looking for a needle that doesn't want to be found. He really wanted to help his friends, who were just as confused, if not more confused, than him. Pat seemed to be the most confused but calm, and Jeremy seemed the most distraught. Brycelyn seemed to be the only one who could keep Jeremy calm when he got worked up.

Despite the small amount of "help" she gave Gar compared to the guys, any help she gave was a big part of the trail to the answer. It was never plainly obvious, but he could find it. While creating miracles with her, he followed this slowly forming trail, a trail that seemed to point towards a positive answer while being cloaked in darkness of unknown mysteries.

When he finally reached the answer, he felt like he was peering behind a dark curtain. What he saw shocked him. He saw what would happen to his friends and starting breathing heavily in fear. He stumbled backwards and saw her face appear as he fell out of the darkness of answers. Panic clouded his judgement as he slid to the floor with his head in his hands. He felt lightheaded, felt like he couldn't breathe.

He saw lies being impaled and truths revealed. He knew he had to tell the guys, but he was in too much of a panic to do anything. He felt like he was frozen in place. He clenched his hands into fists and started shaking uncontrollably. He started to have a breakdown until his dad got ahold of his girlfriend and she came over to comfort him.

He eventually got to informing the guys of what he found out, but they had clearly dismissive responses. Either, they didn't believe him, or especially in Jp's case, they didn't want to let go of someone they loved. It hurt Gar to see them dismiss it easily, but he just had to hope that it was his imagination playing tricks on him.

It didn't play out how he had hoped.

Wade got a bullet to the heart.

Patrck got a needle of poison to his neck.

Jeremy got a knife to the back.

Before he could suffer from losing his friends, his girlfriend took him to a room alone. He thought she was comforting him, but he got otherwise. Their stories, stories of an everlasting love, lost to this truth.

These four friends became known as "The Butterflies" and the maze to the answer appropriately named the "Butterfly Maze." People after them with the same markings also became part of "The Butterflies." They fell dead like butterflies falling from the sky, losing their eternity and hope.