Chapter 1
Sia sighed, letting her head fall back. She blinked at the setting sun, the orange hue with crows cawing. The sight was so unbearably boring that looked away. Sia locked the nursery/ flower shop, turned around and started walking on the empty road.
She popped in the ear buds of her earphone and walked ahead while humming to a tune on her way to her night shift.
'It should be good enough to go with this months pay. I have enough saved for three months rent. All I need is find someone going out of this town.'
Sia thought, her eyebrows furrowed as she checked her account balance. She was already of legally age months ago, the only thing stopping her from leaving this crappy town was money. Which she had saved after 10 months of part time job at a local convience store.
She picked up her steps once the convience store came into view. Sia walked in through the glass door.
Henry, her collegue was working behind the cash counter. He was has thick black spects resting on his nose and a large frame. He was furiously arguing back and forth with an old woman while repeatedly pointing at the computer screen.
"The total is $124.76, this is a machine generated price, I am not adding anything to it lady!" He seemed really frustated as he yelled at the end, banging his hands on the counter.
"Young man are you trying to threaten me! I am not buying anything from this store, you bunch of punks trying to teach me." The old woman yelled right back and walked past Sia and out of the door leaving heaps of things piled up on the counter.
Henry met her eyes and slumped down, hiding his face behind his hands. "Oh my god, she is going to come again tomorrow and argue about this again." Henry whined. Sia patted his back and walked to the staff room.
This happens all the time because this is the only convenience store in town, but the pay is great.
Sia wore her blue hat and matching t- shirt and came out of the room.
"Your here now, I am off now Sianna." Henry threw the words over his shoulder as he walked out of the doors, jumping over the steps.
"Bye," Sia spoke and started picking up things to put them back on the shelf. Things quitened down after Henry left as the store was empty save for the whrring of the AC.
This town, Woodrise is one of those isolated towns with barely a population of 300 people. But what made Woodrise more 'unique' is that 90% population here is the age group of 40 - 60, with bare minimum facilites and no connection to the outside world. There is a cummunity school that is for namesake. Meaning even if Sia can go to a city, there are zero chances for further education or to do anything in that fields. Because she herself didn't know how reliable her highschool education was.
The store door opened and two people walked in, a woman with a little kid. Sia went back to her place and paitently waited. The woman, a regular at her grandma's nursery that Sia maintains. The woman grabbed a cart and walked down an isle.
This was the time when people usually got off work hence the store quickly filled up with five more people. The woman came back and Sia son started scaning her items.
A man entered the store, dressed in oversized grey jacket with a hat and hunched in on himself, Sia frowned and looked away to continue beeping the items.
Sia scrunched her nose and back away at the foul smell that wafted from the man as he stood near the counter, too close for comfort.
Suddenly the man who had his arms folded underneath each other pulled out a knife.
"Give m all the money." He slurred thickly, the edge of the butcher's knife glinted sharply as the man's hands trembled.
Shocked gasps rang in the store as all the clatter stopped at once. Sia's eyes went wide as the box in her hand dropped with a thud.
"Hey young man lis-" one of the customer's slowly started speaking but the man swung the knife in his directing, stabbing it in the air threateningly.
"Stay back and empty your pockets, take out everything you have." the assailant spit out, and sung his knife again, making the customers back away in fear.
Sia, took in breath, her fingers trembling as she dug around the counter for her phone while keeping her eyes on the assailant's back.
When the man realized that his threats weren't working he lunged at the child and grabbed his arm. The woman screamed and latched onto her child's body, wrapping herself around him.
"No, not my son, please. I will give you whatever you want, not my son please." the woman sobbed, tugging at her son's arm that the man was holding.
"Wait, let the boy go!" another elderly man tried to placate him and took out his wallet.
"Then do it," the assailant barked and pointed his knife threateningly at the child.
Cold sweat broke out on Sia's back as she clutched her phone and swiped it open. They didn't have a emergency number, they had only one god damned sheriff with two officers in the whole damn town.
She peeked down and dialed the number with her shaking fingers.
"What do you think you are doing bitch!"
It all happened within seconds.
With a roar the assailant swung his menacingly knife at Sia, his eyes red with a crazed glow. The knife tore through her abdomen and a scream ripped out of her throat as she fell back.
Instead of the numbing pain and the gush of warm blood that should have appeared a swarm of blue butterflies suddenly burst out. Dozens of butterflies stormed at the assailant at once.
Everyone was shocked into stillness, this mind finding it difficult to process what they were seeing.
"Mom butterflies," the child exclaimed in wonder and tried to catch the butterflies in his fist. That broke the chilling silence.
"Is this a circus trick you are trying to pull here." The woman screamed loudly, er glaring eyes focused on Sia who was still sprawled on the floor, blinking blankly at the butterflies.
Sia couldn't tear her eyes away from the blue butterflies, they were blocking the assailant. But something didn't feel right, something was so very wrong about this mystical sight.
The woman's scream broke her concentration and Sia saw the woman glaring at her.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Another customer yelled.
Sia furrowed her eyebrows, they were all glaring at her with faces red with anger.
'Circus trick? Where did these butterflies come-'
Sia moved her eyes down at her abdomen when she remembered the attack. There was a very visible and large tear on her t-shirt but strangely enough there was no blood.
The next second Sia screamed, here heart thumping rapidly as a shiver crawled up her spine, like nails digging in her back and pins pricking his skin. She gasped for air as her eyes saw the area underneath the torn cloth. Instead of a wound and blood, her skin was neatly sliced and stretching open. blue butterflies were slipping out of her abdomen.
Sia screamed again and backed away till her back hit the wall. Her whole body was shaking as if in a seizure.
Butterflies. Insects. They are coming out of my body.
"This is all part of your prank right?! I will ma-" Sia could barely hear anything as she stood up and started swiping her hands to swat the butterflies away. She hopped on her feet and pulled at her shirt.
"Get away, get away, get off me," she mumbled as a sob raked through her body. Her hands hitting her arms and stomach. It felt like ants were crawling up on her.
Sia stumbled to the door and burst out. The butterflies moved out through the open door behind her. Sia whimpered at the sight, this was something straight out of her worst nightmares.
She didn't feel any strength in her legs but she turned around and started running from the butterflies.
There were no streetlights on the road and so she was running blindly in the dark. She didn't see the blue butterflies glowing under the moonlight, all she saw was her childhood nightmare chasing her again. Sia ran with tears dripping down her chin, the dark and silent night added to the fear that was tightly gripping at her heart.
She didn't know where she was going or if she was on the road. But no matter where she ran the butterflies kept following her. She wanted to scream again and stand somewhere where these insects can't come crawling.
A sudden inclination in the ground made her loose her footing as she went crashing down.