A Circuit of Time: Book Two of Spark (A MPHFPC Fanfiction)

Chapter One

"That's not gonna happen," Sharon said. "If we just leave her be, she will break out to do whatever she wants eventually. Even the deathtraps of Devil's Acre couldn't stop her."

"We need to restrain her." Mr. Albiar pointed out. "Even if she isn't working for wights, her recklessness may still expose us to our enemies."

"But we aren't capable of restraining her." Francesca said, "If we want to keep her from getting out, we have to kill her."

The councilors nodded in grim agreement.

Then Olive broke the silence. "I don't think killing her would be a wise move. Let me take her on our next operation."

"No! That mission is too important," Mr. Albiar disapproved.

"I can keep an eye on her. Make sure she's really on our side." Olive explained. "You all heard the report, she's quite skillful in combat. It will benefit us greatly if we can recruit her."

"What if she turns out to be working with our enemy, will you be able to kill her?" Francesca asked.

"Then I won't be killing a friend, just another monster Caul throw at us." Olive answered coldly.

*

Emma wandered out of the building. The street seemed new and advanced, much like the world of 2012 in her memory. But she couldn't be in 2010s, this loop was created long before that time according to Abe's journal.

Then again, Abe's log also said this loop was in the Everglades, which was about 500 miles from here.

Across the street was the a cemetery park. Why anyone would want a graveyard in front of their office building, Emma had no idea. The park seemed empty, unaffected by the noises from people's daily lives just blocks away.

As if pulled by some invisible strings, Emma found herself standing at the edge of the park but couldn't recall when she crossed the street. She walked past the graves of people she barely knew about. Names she never heard of were everywhere, another grim reminder of how war won't bother selecting its victims.

At the center of the park, twelve memorials stood higher than all the gravestones. They formed a circle that surrounded a dry fountain. On those memorials were more spidery texts carved into stone.

This time she realized that those were names she knew.

On one memorial, starting with Esmerelda Avocet, were the names of all the Ymbrynes died in the war with wights. Emma placed her fingers on the second name and closed her eyes, allowing the good memories to overtake her weary mind, if just for a moment.

Alma Lefay Peregrine

So, this is how it's like to be known as dead, she thought, to be forgotten and reduced to a name on some ancient stones.

On the right hand side of the ymbrynes, were the memorial for a different group of people.

In memory of Miss Peregrine's Wards,

your bravery is the spark of light when darkness descends upon our world.

May your souls find rest in heaven.

Emma read through the names below one by one. Maybe they had been reduced to carvings on stone, but at least their stories were still remembered. Then she remembered Aullis, the weird old man they met during their search for this place, and the prophecy he mentioned. Perhaps whoever decided to put their names here didn't do it just out of repect.