15 An enemy of an enemy is not necessarily a friend

Molly

She had never fired a gun before. Until now. And never had she thought that she would be so glad as to kill a person.

Her hands were trembling. Both from the fear of death and the thrilling satisfaction of having actually gunned her enemy. She knew it had to be so wrong yet it made her braver. She had fumbled with the trigger and safety locks at first, but her adrenaline gave her sharper thinking. And thus, the monster who was in Princess's skin was now oozing two trinklets of gold-colored blood. It was weird having to aim at the body of a sister she loved so much but in the face of danger, it instead strengthened her resolve.

She needed to live for Princess and Connie, wherever they were.

The flesh-eating butterflies had stopped attacking. It had been a while since they flocked down towards her and she had to run for her dear life. Luckily they brought the guns and turned out it was not hard to fire a pistol.

The purple flowers held them back, Molly somehow figured that much. It was because she had a flower tucked in her ear before that the Princess back then ran away in panic. And it was that they were surrounded by mounds of these blossoms that Molly and Bill had been safe the past few weeks. And now, these little fluttering suckers cowered before the presence of three stalks of wilting flowers.

Still, there was no assurance that they would be held at bay for long. These were just three stalks after all, not even a whole mound. If the fake Princess decided to launch an attack... She could picture those clean bones in her mind. Both Bill and her could end up like them, utterly unrecognizable.

The fake Princess commanded her army of butterflies to protect her. With her arms tremulous in fear, Molly did not have a good aim, not to mention her inexperience. She had wasted a couple of bullets. And now she only had three.

Much to her advantage, the teeny-winged creatures were not made for defense. They ate up flesh but they could not block bullets. And as long as Molly pointed the gun right, the bullets pierced through these suckers and hit their intended target. There were a few butterflies on the ground already, some of them barely alive and wriggling.

When the yellow wall of butterflies parted to assault her, she fired again. And of course the butterflies reformed into a wall albeit it was in vain.

The fake Princess gave a yelp as if she had just been smitten. It was a bullet enough to kill a person and she only yelpt? Molly cursed. Why couldn't this creature die already!

Two bullets. She had to aim at the vital parts now. But had she not been doing exactly that?

The butterflies motioned to attack. She pulled the trigger and jerked in the recoil.

One last bullet. Her enemy must have figured it out already too.

Princess's impostor cackled. It was a disgusting sound and it made her blood boil. It wasn't the laugh of a child nor of a human being. It was hideous, and it made her skin crawl.

She was about to fire one last time when something happened. The wall of butterflies collapsed and dispersed. It was not her doing.

The impostor shrieked a blood-curling sound of pain. Molly got a good look as the butterflies flew without direction, as if they themselves felt their master's agony.

There was a black stone lying on the ground near Princess. It gave off an eerie gray smoke and a rather pleasant smell she had come to be fond of. The fragrance of the purple flowers. There was a charred bruise on the impostor's face where the stone touched her. Molly had been gunning her down. To think that a mere stone could bring her to her knees.

Molly swept her eyes around to find the man who threw the stone. He looked like a normal person. Just now, he stood there in the corner, appreciating his feat.

Molly had an urge to call out but she kept the word to her throat. She had learned her lesson. An enemy of the enemy is not necessarily a friend.

The fake Princess also noticed the newcomer and she stared with vile hatred at him. "Youuuu!!!" She hissed in an unchild voice. She sent her butterflies toward him but they only got close to a few feet before avoiding him entirely.

A larger butterfly loomed from the ruins however. It was larger than a bus and its gruesome wings sent clouds of dust flying when it flapped them.

The man only picked up a stone however and flung it towards the monster. It struck its body and the creature writhed in a throe of pain.

Krrrieekkk!

The ear-splitting cry made Molly shiver in fear. The man was unfazed though and he paid it no more attention. He instead set off towards the impostor.

He spoke something and Molly could hardly overhear him. "You piece of shit! You dare insult the memory of my Monica." And with that he gripped her neck. With their master facing mortal danger, the little butterflies fluttered wildly about, yet still helpless against the fragrance that the man emanated.

So the man had met the impostor before. And most likely got fooled too.

"Please," the impostor suddenly changed her tone. It sounded so soft and innocent. "I saved you before," she struggled to force the words out as a hand tightened around her throat. "Now save meee... I did not do anything wrong. It was all for the will of Fuljiri."

The man hesitated for a second. And for that moment, he loosened his hand a little.

"What will?"

"The will of god. Th-they will come f-for you. If you.. spare my life, I c-can help you..."

"Lies," the man said.

Then he gripped her neck so fiercely. She struggled but everytime she touched him, her skin burned. Even after every trace of life and movement had left the fake Princess's body, he clamped on more tightly. Nothing could seem to satisfy his rage.

The butterflies stilled and rained down, like a yellow dirty confetti, as if to declare a winner.

And as soon as they fell, they burst up in flames. It was a fire show. Panting, the man finally let go. The fake Princess's body shriveled and curled as it burned. It was a spectacle to behold. And even Molly's tired eyes squinted at this dazzling sight.

All of the monsters faded into embers of light that pretty soon were all lost in the air. Not a speck of dust of them remained.

With a calmer and amiable tone, the man turned to Molly. "Are you okay?"

Molly could not help but nod. Tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes. And she wiped them.

"I'm sorry," he said, as he neared her. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"No, no. Please. Thank you for saving us." She dropped the gun that held one last bullet. She decided this man was a friend.

"Is he okay?" He said, nodding down at Bill who miraculously was not shivering anymore. Color had returned to his previously wan face. And his breathing seemed normal now.

"He passed out."

"Should we head off? I'll carry him."

She could only blush at this man's kindness. "T-thank you." She felt so relieved that she only wanted to lie down. She slumped her shoulders at last, relaxing and giving in to the fatigue. Her mind was tired. Her body too as well. She did not make any effort to get to her feet yet.

Maybe the man understood this and let her rest for a while.

"Name's Jin," he introduced.

She looked up and replied. "Molly. Were you from the storm too?"

The man stared back, puzzled as if confused by the context of the question.

"I mean," she clarified, " Are you human?"

Jin broke into laughter and it was Molly's turn to stare back. "Of course, I am. Although I don't have a frigging clue what's up with this power," he said, looking at his hand that a while ago threw a smoking stone that seemed to hurt the creature more than speedy bullets. "I used to live in Gurin. But I think it's a wasteland now."

"We - I was from the orphanage. And Bill here is from St. Francis."

"You alone? Just the two of you?"

"I got separated from the rest."

"How many days has it been since... you know?"

Molly recalled, "A month."

Jin's jaw almost dropped. "A month? Just the hell happened to me?"

The man studied himself. "Dang it, I've got so thin."

Molly noticed something different. The man's shadow. It did not behave like a shadow at all. It started to move on its own. And grew larger in a frightening pace. Jin meanwhile was too busy bickering at how his physique had changed.

"Mister..." Molly's eyes widened as the shadow crept up to hers.

"The fuck is happening?" By the time Jin noticed, it was wide enough to cover all of them.

Then like quicksand, it began to swallow them.

Molly stood up, or rather tried to. She was glued to her spot, unable to move. They wriggled and shouted but the shadow on the ground continued to suck them up.

It consumed Bill first. Not a trace of him was left as his whole body sank into the pavement.

"Hold onto me," Jin said. But the invisible force was stronger than his arms. And in no time, the ground reached up to Molly's neck. Molly could only stare wide in shock as her eyes were swallowed wholly in darkness.