Radioactive butterflies, trapped in an underground cave for centuries, are accidentally unleashed into the world infecting everyone who is touched. Only an unimaginable minority of the population have the immunity against the infection.
Parker Ivy...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Fly Away 01
The end of the world. Many people have placed their hypothesises upon this inevitable event. Some people bet on it, some people embed ideas in our heads like a dystopian world, or a meteorite, or simply... a zombie apocalypse. My grandmother said that the world won't end while I'm alive or even when my children are alive. But my thoughts still seem to hesitate when attempting to believing that what she says is true. "Hey, Parker," I release my consciousness from my thoughts, then turning on my heals. "Oh. Hey Asha," I flickered a gentle smile as her ebony bob came bouncing towards me. I watched as she beamed a cheeky smile. Her porcelain skin made way for her amber eyes, warm and round. "You ready?" She beckoned me as her long legs began to stride down the sidewalk. I've never liked school. I've never done well academically, the whole school seems to hate me, then teachers think I'm a loaded gun about to go off. One of the only things I'm adequate at is sports. The feeling of competition and adrenaline pounded through my blood. I love it. The school gates came into view. It was only a small town in south Ohio, but the gates that surround the school stand like walls around a fort to keep people out - or in. I pulled the backpack down by the handles, taking an exaggerated gulp as I stepped into the gates. It was like stepping into another world. The quite streets of Blackpool guarded by speechless trees evolved into a court yard flooding with conversation, youth and hormones. My body drifted through the people like an insignificant leaf floating down a steam. I bit down hard on my lower lip as Asha forced open the door, the cool air from within neutralising the lingering summer heat. "Two more years left in his hole," Asha chuckled as she stood in the entrance of the hallway. "Then, we are out." I rolled my eyes as began to glide towards the bathrooms. I examined the way Asha tended to her lush bob of silk. The way it hung from her roots in voluminous way made my stomach curl with envy. I sighed and attached my gaze to the clone of myself staring through the mirror. Her hair was a deep mouse brown, even it's layered style couldn't hide it's thinness. Dim brown eyes stared into mine, camouflaging with my medium skin. I was short for my age and my voice was thin like my hair. "I've got Biology," Asha mention, keeping her locked gaze close to the mirror as she stroked the mascara through her elegant lashes. "What about you?" I slithered my tongue between my lips, the chapped skin ripping at my tongue making me wince. I began to search my bag for chapstick. "English," I answered, still scurrying through my bag. "We better get going, we can't be late," I watched her long legs stride around the tiles in two stride. I don't even think I could do that in four. We talked about our weekend while Asha walked me to class. The way she twirled short stands of ebony hair between her fingers made it obvious she had something else on her mind. She beamed her goodbye at me as I turned on her and made my way into the room. The room was set out like your average American high school. Individual wooden tables and chair flawlessly facing the front like it was some kind of tyranny. I reluctantly smuggled my way to one of the back seats, hoping no one saw me. The teacher was out of sight and only a few students busied themselves by rocking on their heels or sorting out their already sorted books. "That's cool!" "That's actually kinda weird." I curled around my torso towards two boys clamping phones within their palms. "Hey," I smiled gently, hoping that what they were talking about would be some interest to me. One with greasy blonde hair peered down towards me, his face blooming with pink. He mustn't talk to girls often. "Have you s-seen the ready cool think in Mexico?" he asked between stutters. I tilted my head. I'm not the kind of person to be spending time on something like politics, but the excitement blooming in his eyes made me curious. "Um, no," I began, "could you inform me please?" I waited as he hesitantly shuffled his body towards me. I almost smirked at the way he awkwardly held the phone to my face like a baby being spoon fed. My face became seldom as I began to examine the news report on the screen. "Hundreds of thousands of beautifully pink, almost transparent, winged butterflies are swarming the skies over Mexico City." Artificial ardour filled the voice of the news reporter as the screen delivered videos and pictures of the most resplendent creatures I've ever laid eyes on. "Wow," I began, my eyes locked onto the closeup picture of a butterfly. "They are gorgeous." "They are aren't they?" The boy bursted out jubilantly as he hesitantly removed the phone from my face. I shifted my body back to the front, my eyes still locked on the imagery in my mind of the dazzling transparency and bewitching wings that looked like they were lightly layered in rose gold foil. "Morning guys," Mr. Heather trotted in, his bald patch more blinding than ever. "Morning Mr. Heather," the class mummbled in unison like an army of robots.
~
That night I dreamed of butterflies. Not just any butterflies; ones with blush, all most transparent wings frolicking around my mind. I woke up to the shattering of pot and pans inviting themselves to the tiled floor of Grandmother's kitchen. I scrawled myself out of bed. My alarm hasn't gone off yet, but my head felt far too nauseous to stay laying down. My head somersaulted as I made my way down the stairs, my blood pounding through my veins. "Morning dear, how are you feeling?" Grandmother pivoted towards me with oven mitts clenching around her hands. I vigorously shook my head, ultimately regretting it as it headache came down like thunder. I winced as I stumbled towards the kitchen, craving the feeling of hydration. "Oh gosh," Grandmother's face was sympathetic and almost shocked. "You don't look so good." "You sure?" The sarcastic tone came out too slowly, resulting is absolutely seldom. "Just, stay home dear," she gestured to toward the living room, the couches and rugs inviting me. "You can visit your mother today, she called last night to see if you didn't have any homework tonight." I nodding my head, my brains bobbing with it as I made my way towards the welcoming tranquility of the living room. My body feel like an avalanche onto the couch. Even that made my head throb. The T.V come on with a touch of a button. The screen lit up to news reports. I felt my body lean closer as I flicked through the channels, each one of them containing traces of pink butterflies making their way through the south-western States of America.
