Separate Entities//Miss Peregrine AU

Chapter One

"Shit!" I shouted, dropping the knife in my hand and clutching my finger instead. "All I wanted was a goddamn apple," I muttered angrily under my breath as I ran my finger under cold tap water. "Band-aids, where are the band-aids..." I headed to the washroom but found nothing. Just my luck.

After taking a shower and using a tissue as an improvised band-aid, I grabbed my car keys and wallet off the counter and headed out the door. It was time to go to Smart Aid. The only one I knew of was the one Ricky and Elaina showed me a week ago, so I decided to head over there. It was only a five-minute drive, after all. I would be back in a jiffy.

I left the motel and made my way to the parking lot, quickly spotting my baby blue Chevy Impala. I unlocked the door and entered, tossing my wallet into the passenger's seat. I got the Impala for cheap at a used car sale in Orlando. From the looks of her, she was a model from eighty-two. I absolutely loved her.

I nearly got lost on my way to Smart Aid, and when I showed up only four cars were parked in the large parking lot. I was surprised. It was Saturday in June. I looked at the seemingly empty building as I pulled into the parking space closest to the doors. After removing my keys from the ignition and taking my wallet from the seat beside me, I open the door and got out. As I approached the door, I noticed the time-table.

I checked my watch and my suspicions were confirmed: It was quarter-to-eight, and the store opened in fifteen minutes. The cars in the parking lot were probably those of the employees. If I stayed there, I'd be alone for fifteen minutes. If I left to drive around for a while... I could find a graveyard and meet some more spirits.

Since I moved to Englewood just a week and a half ago, I had spent all my time settling in and hanging out with Elaina and Ricky. I hadn't met anyone else, except for the cleaning lady at the hotel. She was about fifty years old and her name tag read GLADYS in a basic font. She seemed nice enough, and when she invited me to her house for tea that Thursday afternoon after I helped her clean my apartment - I just couldn't resist.

They lived in a house in Circle Village. Gladys' husband, Carl, looked ten years older than her and was probably blind, what with his pale eyes that looked milky and blurred. I felt sorry for him. They told me several stories of their past: how they met, their wedding, and oddly enough, about their old neighbor a few houses down who was killed by wild dogs a couple of years ago.

When I asked why they told me the story, Carl explained that the man, Abraham Portman, had gone mad. He kept on claiming that monsters were chasing him and were coming to kill him. He was afraid of everyone he used to be close with, including his neighbors and family. Somehow, when I walked through Carl's door with Gladys, he got the same sort of... feeling from me as he did from Abe. 'I'm just looking out for you,' he said.

I got back into my car and started her up again, keeping my wallet in my lap. I drove out of the parking lot and started making my way around Englewood, keeping track of which roads I went down. Over the next half hour, I had no luck finding a graveyard and ended up back at the motel. It was easier that way because then I would just retrace my 'steps' from earlier that morning.

Usually, I didn't go hunting for spirits, but living in a town where you only have two friends your age can get boring, fast. I needed some new surroundings. Of course, I had priorities, and going to Smart Aid was at the top of my list.

On my way there, I thought back to the story Carl had told me only two days prior. Why did the name Portman seem so familiar to me? Was it one of my uncles or aunts on James' side? I knew that dad had no siblings, I wouldn't even consider Louise a part of me anymore, so why was that name so present in my mind? A cool teacher? An old friend? A lost spirit?