"I Found It in the Forest..." by Matthew T. Summers

Their voices were hushed, fearful… aware that if the parental units heard them, they stood the chance of having their discovery taken away from them.   

"Is it still alive?"

"Yeah… yeah, I think so."  A pause.  "Yeah, it's still moving."

"What do you think it is?"

"I dunno!  Ain't like no butterfly I've ever seen!"

A thump and a squawk of pain was heard as the boy rapped his younger sister on the noggin with a knuckle.  "Stupid!  This isn't a butterfly.  Butterflies don't have feet or hands."

"So it's a… fairy?"

"I… I don't think so, fairies are supposed to be human, just tiny.  This thing's got fur, and spikes, and…"

Both children gasped in surprise as the light was turned on in the bedroom and a large man walked in.  He chuckled down at them and said, "Ok, you two, what've you got there?"

"N… nothing, daddy."  The little girl tried in vain to hide the shoebox behind her, her eyes wide in fear.

"Come on, let me see it."  The man held his hand out to his daughter, and after a final reluctant look at the box, she handed it to him.  He opened the edge of the box and peered inside, chuckling.  "Aw, a monarch butterfly.  Poor thing's wounded, too.  Where'd you find this?"

The children exchanged a look of confusion.  Couldn't he see… Finally the son spoke.  "In… in the forest, dad.  It was lying on the ground, and we thought…"

"… that you'd bring it home and nurse it back to health."  The man smiled wider.  "You kids have good hearts, you really do.  But I'm afraid it's just a butterfly, it's not likely to live through the night.  I should…"

"Daddy!"  The little girl sprang forward, clinging on the man's leg tightly.  "Please let us keep it!  Please please please please please!"

"Oh, all right."  The father chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair with bemusement.  "Not like it eats much, after all.  I'll tell your mother not to disturb the shoebox… but remember, it's a butterfly, so it'll want room to move around if it starts to get better.  You might want to think about where to keep it once it starts flapping its wings again."

"We will, dad."

* * *

"I can't believe how long that butterfly's lived, Mary."  Dan shook his head.  "I didn't think monarch butterflies lived past a season or two, but here it's been three years and that thing's still fluttering away in their room."

Mary smiled, adjusting her position slightly to accommodate her protesting, kicking belly.  "Lisa loves that little thing, I'm glad it's made it this long.  Ow."  She winced as a rather violent kick rippled across her shirt front.  "I think I've got a soccer player in here, I swear."

Dan rested his hand on his wife's stomach lovingly.  "Well, it'll be the last time you have to worry about any of our kids beating up your organs, dear… I think three's plenty for us."

"Fine by me.  If you want any more, YOU can carry the next one, mister!"  Laughing, husband and wife shared a kiss…

Breaking off when a loud crash came from the living room.  Frowning, Dan stood up and started toward the living room when two large men burst into the kitchen.  One of them immediately slammed a crowbar down, slamming Dan against the refrigerator.  With a moan, he dropped to the floor, unconscious.  

Mary's shriek of fear was cut off when the other man clamped a massive, dirty hand over her mouth and hissed, "Ooo, yer a pretty one!  Gonna have some fun…"

"Mom?"

The two men turned as the little girl stared wide-eyed at the scene before her.  For a heartbeat, the mother and daughter's eyes locked…

And the man who'd attacked her father started toward her.  Shrieking in fear, Lisa tore off toward her room, slamming the door shut behind her as she dived underneath the bed.  Footsteps quickly followed, and one of the two intruders stood in her doorway, chuckling malevolently.  

"Where, oh where, could the little one be…"  

Lisa watched in horror as the man's legs came closer and closer to the bed… until finally, a slight motion behind the man caught her attention.  A sense of calm washed over her, and she smiled.

She continued smiling even as the man picked up the edge of the bed and grinned nastily at her.  

When she didn't react, he frowned.  "Whatchoo smilin' at, you little whore?"

"I think my butterfly wants to have a word with you."

"Your what?"  He glanced in the direction she'd indicated, and for a moment he stared in total disbelief…

His scream of terror was cut off abruptly as all the lights in the house went out.

* * *

The policeman scratched underneath his hat in confusion.  After another moment, he shrugged and picked up his phone.

"Yeah, Chief, it looks like everyone's going to be alright.  The father looks like he's going to need some stitches and the wife's got some bruising from where the intruders were holding her… no, no, she wasn't raped, but I'd be willing to bet if they'd stuck around longer it'd have been a real possibility."

"Kids were both fine.  The son was out of the house entirely, and the daughter apparently was hiding in her room… yeah… yeah… yep, so everyone's safe and sound, and nothing of value was removed from the house."

"Still, it's the weirdest thing.  The descriptions of the two from the daughter and mother match the pair we've been looking for, but they've never just abandoned their target like that before.  The mother can't remember what happened, she was too panicked to really pay attention to anything around her until it was all over."

"The girl?"

The policeman chuckled.  "Typical kid, Chief.  She claims her butterfly ate both of em.  She kept insisting, so I humored her and looked in her room.  Meanest looking monarch butterfly I've ever seen, I'm telling ya."  He chuckled again.  "Good to know it's not going to traumatize her, since the mother looks to be about eight or nine months pregnant… not going to be a whole lot of spare money for therapy once that happy package arrives."

The policeman paused for a moment.  "Still… There was a trace of blood on her carpet that looked fresh, but… what's that?  Ok, Chief, I'll wrap it up here and give my report when I arrive… but yeah, it looks like they got away clean."