"Hey Baobei!" one goon speaks up.
Tattoos on body, hair spiky and colored, scars on faces, scratches on bikes.....these people screamed bad company and Luya knew that. Their faces twisted in lust and unspoken desires. Luya wanted to vanish, but her legs glued to the spot as the butterfly circled around the guys and flew away to the other side, leaving a trail behind. She knew it wanted her to communicate with them. But despite trying, she couldn't find any void in these people's mind.
"What brings a girl like you here? Are you lost?" another one says, walking towards her.
She keeps her face emotionless before speaking up.
"I happen to pass by, sorry to interrupt." she replies before turning to leave.
But the guy runs to block her way.
"Whoa, what's the hurry? I can drop you off. Where do you live?" he slyly asks.
"No, thanks." she replies.
"I insist. You're such a deary, lets just get to know each other, shall we?" he forces.
Luya was about to speak up but the faint trail of the butterfly glows around the guy. Unsure, she still manages to say.
"Do you know every way around here?" she crosses her arms while saying, eyes showing no trace of hesitation.
"Of course! I'm the eyes and ears of Zhangzhou!" he boasts while laughing.
Across the road, Fang happens to cross by a bakery near that alley. She stops in her tracks when she sees Luya climbing onto the back of the guy's bike, her hands hesitantly holding the rear grab handle as they ride away into the dimming streetlight. She understood these people were not good. Questions flood her mind.
The biker picks up speed, moving through the traffic. Luya keeps track of the trail. The sky roars above.
"Baobei! Why don't you wrap your hands around me?" he playfully questions.
"No, I'm good. Take left on the next intersection." she commands.
"Aigh, aigh. But why don't you tell me where you live exactly?" he asks back.
"You'll know soon." Luya answers, obviously lying to him.
"As you sayyyyyyyyyy." the guy shouts while speeding up even more.
They keep going for a while. The trail stops near an old car service center.
"Stop right here!" Luya tells him, urgency in her voice.
"Here?" the guy says checking out the place.
The butterfly flies again from a car's roof and enters the abandoned shed. Luya climbs down from the bike and runs to follow the butterfly.
"Aigh!" the guy parks his bike and follows her as well.
Luya walks inside the dark, broken shed, making her way slowly through the unaligned, dust-covered cars. The butterfly flies up and vanishes into the thin air. Luya stops in her track and furrows her brows.
"What? This has never..." she doesn't complete.
"Why did you bring me here?" the guy says, standing inches away from her.
Luya flinches away from him, a bit shaken. The guy starts to laugh.
"Well...I'm not complaining. A dark abandoned place, away from the crowd and sound, perfect to be together? Isn't it baobei?" he says, decreasing the gap between them.
"You're being mistaken. I-" Luya tries to speak up.
"Shhh, shhh. I can understand. No need to be shy." he tries to touch her.
Luya steps back, extremely uncomfortable with the situation she has put herself in. But before he can do anything more, someone speaks up.
"Who are you two?" a dark voice cuts through the silence.
4 more men, looking even more dangerous and threatening, come out of the shadows, unclear to see but heavy enough to sense. The guy flinches back a bit, Luya's breathing accelerates.
"Why are you here? How did you get to this place?" one of them fumes with anger.
"Bro, there's a girl." another one laughs, eyes scanning Luya up and down.
"Aigh! Was this a trap?" the previous guy asks her.
"Shut up." Luya pokes him, annoyed.
She keeps trying to sense any place to fracture their minds, but finds none. She didn't think that following a trail and getting a dead end was possible. Every time she has gone after the butterfly, there always has been a broken mind, either in need of help or guidance. When she couldn't find any, it meant there was nothing wrong. Then why was she brought here?
"Feisty, eh?" one of the guys speak up.
"Aigh, is that lover boy? You two snuck to do..." another one trails off before bursting out laughing.
"No! I'm not with her!" the previous guy shouts out.
"ENOUGH!" the baritone guy screams.
Luya closes her eyes, sighing as the weight of recklessness gets heavier and heavier on her.
"Since your timing is pathetic, the results will be too. Darkness isn't a place to play. Is it, pretty girl?" the same guy says more.
"Look, do what you want with her, I'm off of here." saying the one who came with Luya starts to leave.
But two men stop him, shoving him down to the floor.
"There there, that's not ideal. You both trespassed the wrong area, so face it together." he says while getting close to Luya.
She keeps retreating until her body collides with the metal wall. She can feel the guy smile despite the darkness. As he closes the distance she shuts her eyes and looks away.
"No one...can escape death." he whispers near her ear.
Luya opens her eyes, a cold sweat running down her neck. She feels as if the time has stopped. She can't even hear anything anymore. Her mind questioning why, how and what.
But out of nowhere, the butterfly appears again, emerging out of the metal wall and flying towards her left side until it scatters like moondust, all over the place.
She takes a few quick breaths. Then suddenly...the guy close to her starts to cough.
He places a hand on his chest and moves back while coughing again.
"What?" she talks to the wind.