The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

18: Teen Boys Cause All the World's Problems, Especially if They're Butterflies

Darkness flooded Ryan's senses. She found herself in a vast expanse of nothingness. The area around her blanketed in an expanse of a starless and merciless night sky. The only sound the distant peck of water.

She rubbed her eyes. Sleep cracked at her face, her cheeks tear stained. She tightened her ponytail and pulled herself off of the ground.

She ran. Every step she took dragged her down, as if she were running on the seafloor.

The sound of water dripping came to an abrupt halt. Shrill laughter cut through the air and grabbed her by the throat. Ryan turned to search for the source, panic raging across her skull.

"I told you I'd see you soon." A familiar layered voice called.

She whirled around to find an ornate throne sitting in front of her. The throne was rigid and appeared to be made out of bone, it's eerie white glow beckoned her closer.

Sitting cross legged in the throne sat the shadowy figure she had seen in her previous dreams. It rested its head in its hand, it's butterfly wings folded together.

It grinned. "I mean, it's about time. I thought you might enjoy a little chit chat."

Ryan sat frozen in place. Her legs sunk into the ground. His words splashed acid in the back of her brain and swam in her psyche.

The figure stepped off of its throne with a bounce in its step and waltzed over to Ryan. Butterfly wings and boney fingers eclipsed the light of the throne. It placed an icy claw under her chin, pulling her head up to face it.

"Cat got your tongue? I'd hoped you'd be a little more conversational than this."

It ran its thumb across her cheek. A small chuckle escaped its teeth.

"Or maybe you're just upset because I had to get rid of that friend of yours."

Ryan raised her fist and reached to punch the figure upside the cheek. The very mention of Devany sent a fire raging through her body.

It dissolved in a flash before the punch hit. Ryan stumbled forward where the figure once stood.

The figure's smile reappeared in front of her, hanging in the air like an ornament. Shadows clumped around the smile, spinning together until it stood before her once more.

It flapped its wings. "I mean, I didn't actually kill her, that was something else entirely, but it's still fun to think abou—"

Crack.

Ryan rocked her body forward, using the excess energy to punch him right in the teeth. She couldn't deny that a hit of pride surged in her gut, though it wasn't long lived.

She stumbled back and for a split second, the figure's illusion dissipated. The shadows flickered off its body to reveal a spindly figure of a boy. He wore the same ghostly smile, his mouth a wide scar across his face. Six ghostly white eyes glaring at her in shock.

Surprisingly, he appeared young. He looked at most to be Ryan's age, his mop of curly white hair like a hurricane on his head.

The figure frowned. The shadows slithered back onto his body, blanketing any of the stray features that poked out. He turned to Ryan and snapped his fingers.

Shadows erupted from the ground and wrapped along her body. They grabbed at her arms and feet, dragging her into the throne, their damp touch carved into her skin.

Ryan pulled against the tendrils, but they snapped like magnets, bolting her back onto the cushions.

She dug her nails into the arms of the throne. Bitter resentment sat at the foot of her throat. Spreading like a sickness down to her toes.

"Who the hell are you? Tell me now."

"Ooh! I get all tingly when you take control like that! But I'm afraid my name is for me to know and you to find out."

She grunted. "What do I call you then?"

"Call me The Butterfly. Consider me your guardian angel, Ryan Ferris."

Guardian angel? Considering her past experiences, if he was a guardian angel he was doing the worst possible job.

Ryan paused. She had heard the title "The Butterfly" before, but she couldn't put down where.

"Are you a celestial?"

He scoffed. "Celestial? I see you're using big girl words now, how cute! But no, I'm not a celestial. Personally, I'm offended you'd think I was one of those overly-emotional dust piles. I'm something far greater than—"

A sudden blinding light interrupted him. It flooded the area like a demonic spotlight, pulsing between oranges, yellows, and reds.

The Butterfly clapped his hands together and turned to face the light. He ran his hands along the head of the throne, happily murmuring something to himself in a series of hisses and growls.

He cackled. "Let's put these dreams to good use."

He dug his claws into the side of the throne. The light pulling at his side.

In an instant, they appeared to be miles above where they once stood. The throne rested in the air like a sinking ship.

The butterfly stepped next to the throne and turned to her.

"Welcome to The Empty, Miss Ferris. You were curious about celestials? There, look onward and satisfy your hunger."

He flapped his wings and let out one final laugh before vanishing. The shadows holding her against the throne released their grasp.

Ryan pushed herself away from the throne and floated in the air. The Empty held her like an ocean. She paddled through the air, but found herself helplessly floating in one place.

She sighed. She turned her gaze down and a chill went up her spine.

The beast below her put all the fires of hell to shame. Even from seemingly miles away, it was massive. Its body swirled together, making its presence known like a red mountain cutting through the clouds.

Eyes dotted it's entire body and pulsed like candles in a stormy night. Its legs held claws that stretched towards the air. Mangled horns pointed directly towards Ryan, as if labeling her for slaughter.

It stirred. It's leathery wings flapped, sending shockwaves of heat across Ryan's skin. It turned its head to face her, its jaw covered by long tentacles lined with hook-like teeth, each the size of a two-story building.

Release me.

It's voice echoed to the back of her skull. It resonated through her body, it's voice layered as if it were made of a choir all speaking at once. Despite this, it's voice somehow felt warm and relaxing in her psyche.

Ryan itched. Fire crawled at the back of her throat, making her eyes water. She coughed up smoke and caught her breath. She gasped.

Release me and you will be rewarded, all that you desire shall be yours.

It's words hung still in her mind. She thought of Devany, and all the others she had met whose lives she had ruined. Would a powerful beast such as the one in front of her be able to undo all of that?

"Ok." She managed. "Tell me how."

It snarled, the sound cracking at the edges of her mind. Ryan only now saw the ethereal chains that wrapped around its body like jewelry. It yanked against the chains.

Seek that knowledge yourself.

The beast's tentacles peeled back to reveal a maw like a chasm. An ocean of teeth like that of a deep-sea fish lined its mouth. It rushed up towards her.

Its many eyes locked onto her, singeing the hair on her arms. She gulped, staring into the mass expanse of its jaws. The sea of teeth surrounding her.

Without hesitation, the beast shut its jaws.