Bronze

Chapter 25 pt.2

Leah

It wasn't long before I felt the cool grass beneath my feet and saw the grey Sedan parked on the road, which would transport me back home. I gave a sigh of relief. Then I stepped forward.

.

.

. 

Derrive suddenly tugged at my arms, pulling me in the opposite direction of the car. I stumbled on my feet, the muscles in my thighs and ankles working in different rhythms as my brain. 

I pointed over to his car. "I thought-"

He interrupted me with another curt tug at my shoulder. "They're in the woods, waiting," he said heaving me along. I followed, hesitantly at first, but soon found the joy of freedom too great to be held in. 

I was skipping by the time we arrived.

James and Sophie were hiding behind a thick log coated in beautiful sage-green moss. A monarch butterfly- I could tell by the bright orange spots and black lines of the wings- perched just above Sophie's little head. 

When she spotted it, she beamed and then waved her hands as if trying to catch it. It flew away almost like it was bouncing in the air, up and down until it was too far in the sky to be seen. 

Her sparkling blue eyes caught sight of me, widening so far that she had to smile to accommodate the stretching; not that she didn't want to smile, though. 

Another monarch, or possibly the same one, came down and landed near her tiny feet. For a moment, her eyes traveled down, watching the winged insect with enthusiastic interest. I tried not to laugh at her reaction, but accidentally let a few chortles out. 

"Pumpkin, leave the poor creature alone," I told her. She finally remembered I was there, eyes going back to their astonishingly large size, and reached out to touch me. Her chubby fingers gripped the fabric of the dress, pulling me down so she could hug me around the neck.

James looked over his shoulder, distracted from counting the granola bars by his feet, and stared at me lovingly. I tried to wave from behind. He waved back. A mutual acknowledgment was made, and I turned my attention back to my sister. 

"Have you been good?" I asked her.

She nodded, showing me three held up fingers. "I caught this many lightning bugs!" She said, animated. 

"Did you let them go?" I turned to see James shake his head with a smile. 

Sophie's bottom lip jutted out, trembling just a bit. "A few got squshed," she mumbled under her breath. 

"One was clapped," James explained, standing. "Another was forgotten about and stepped on." He came over to us and tickled Sophie's neck. She squealed, flailing around. 

To anyone looking in, we would appear to be the image of a perfect family. To anyone looking in, we were happy. For the most part, they would be right, except in the case of me. Of course, my sister made me happy; seeing her elated like that brought joy to my heart, but it was only temporary.  

We both laughed, looking down at the small person that would someday grow up to be an amazing, intelligent woman. 

"Come on," Der said, obviously annoyed. "We don't have time. Any minute, a new round of guards will find the ones we left on the floor."

The implications of his statement weren't lost on me. We'd be captured, tortured, and then put to death for disobedience. 

"Could you uncuff me?" I asked jingling the metal cuffs around. The sound attracted the short-attention-span of the toddler, causing her to walk around me to see what was making the noise. She laughed hysterically, holding her rounded stomach as she bent at the waist.