She nudged Luke and whispered, "Check it out. A freakishly large butterfly. Catch it!"
"I'm not catching it. And besides, that's not a butterfly, it's a moth. Butterflies have skinny antennas, while moths have furry ones, like that."
"And since when do moths have colorful wings? Huh, smarty pants?"
"It's not a butterfly, and what do you want it for, anyway?"
"I don't know. Maybe we could cook it. It's huge."
"Seriously? You want to eat some kind of weird moth? What if it's poisonous? Thought we were only eating things we recognized?"
"You're the big bug lover, and you said it was a moth, so you recognized it. And I'm hungry. People eat bugs. It's not unheard of. Did you know that apes share a very similar genetic makeup to humans, and that if humans ate more like apes, they'd be much healthier? Well, apes eat a lot of green leafy vegetables, but guess where they get their protein?"
Luke shrugged.
"You're not going to guess? Fine. I'll tell you anyway. They get it from bugs found in their greens. Bugs like this one. I'm not saying we should start serving it for dinner at home, but for now, when we're so depleted from using our powers, being attacked, jumping from a plane, swimming through an ocean and passing out on a deserted island, yeah, I think we need to get some protein in us however we can. And since you are apparently too chewy, it's Bug Brunch time."
The lecture exhausted Lucy, but she wasn't going to let their only chance at food escape. She reached up into the trees and tried to catch it. It stared straight at her, as if it knew what she was thinking, and then fluttered away, stretching its long, beautiful wings as it flew. It was even bigger than she'd first thought, and its wings glittered in the sunlight.
Luke also watched as it flew away. "Weird. You're right, that's not like any moth I've ever seen. It kind of looks like an Attacus Atlas, but even those don't get that big. They have beautiful wings, but not in jewel tones—more maroon to tawny. Besides, they're only found in the tropical areas of Southeast Asia. I have no idea what that was, but it was amazing."
Hunger pangs made it hard to think, but a part of her was glad she'd failed at catching the creature. Something so beautiful should not be torn from the world. Then again, beauty wasn't the only criteria of worth. One of the most amazing beings she'd ever met would not be considered beautiful by any stretch, but he should never have been torn from this world, either.
Adam. A tear slid down her cheek as she thought of her friend. They'd only known each other briefly, but he'd died to save her. He'd been part of that horrible lab in Russia, where creatures that were part man, part beast spent their lives in locked rooms, stared at and poked and prodded by scientists. But Adam had been special. He'd been her friend.
Luke wrapped his arm around Lucy's shoulders. "You thinking about Adam?"
She nodded. "How'd you know?"
"Sam may be the only mind reader, but I know you like I know myself. Maybe better sometimes. Think our butterfly was a mutant?"
She sniffled and wiped a stray tear. "Don't know. Maybe. Or maybe you don't know bugs like you think you do."
Luke ruffled her already messy hair. "Them's fighting words, Sis."
The jungle creaked around them and Lucy stood and smiled, grateful for the distraction of her brother. "Sorry, I only fight guys who can give me a real challenge."
Luke stretched his long, lean body, like a panther, then pounced. Lucy shrieked and ran from his mock attack, leading them deeper into the jungle.
Their games were short lived, as neither had the stamina to keep up, but the dark mood that Luke had been carrying seem to have lifted, and Lucy relaxed and linked arms with him as they walked. No more doom and gloom—time to get serious about the food business.
The sun caught the glint of something metallic in the ground, and Lucy bent to examine it. She pulled a bit of metal from the mossy ground. Its jagged edges looked torn apart.
She handed it to Luke, who examined it and said, "Hmm... guess there are humans here somewhere. Or were. Wonder what it's from."
They kept walking over a small hill, and discovered the source—the plane they'd jumped from the night before.
Luke's breath hitched and his body turned hard and still. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to be here."
The plane had nearly broken in half, now sewn together by a few random bits of metal—like some kid's toy that got dropped and stepped on.
But it was real, and there would be dead bodies on it.
Lucy wanted to flee, to get away from everything the plane represented and all the memories it called to the surface. But pragmatism won out. Or hunger. She needed food, and the plane had food. She shoved down all memories and insecurities, and put up an emotional wall that allowed her to stay focused.