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

Chapter Three

He didn't even have Penny right now.

And now he had to prove allegiance to an organization that seemed pretty satisfied with their current condition.

"While Penny was with you, did you have any uncommon experience? I mean uncommon by peculiar standards." Sophie's question took him out from his thought.

"I'm not sure about your idea of uncommon¾" John said.

"Just list things that shouldn't happen, other than peculiars and monsters existing." Sophie interrupted impatiently.

"It whispered to me, tell me things. Sometimes tell me how and where to go or warned me when enemies are coming."

"Sounds normal to me. That's what Pensevus does." Sophie said. "Anything else?"

"There was this one time," John hesitated, "About a hollowgast. But I don't know if it actually had anything to do with Penny."

Sophie seemed skeptical, but Miss Bittern gave him a supportive smile. "Go on?" the ymbryne said.

"It was back in Ireland, before I went to Chalatine. I was hiding from wights when the hollow found me. It literally smashed the only thing between us, but didn't attack me. It just... stared." John recounted.

"Perhaps Penny caught its attention?" Sophie suggested.

"Hollows are animals." Miss Bittern said, "Animalistic instincts usually won't let them focus on anything other than food."

"True, but we also have some encounters that reported complex behavior from them." Sophie said. "We will have to look into it further."

Then she turned to John, who was still processing what he heard, "I don't suppose you have any other assignment?"

John shook his head, "Not to my knowledge."

"You can take him, Sophie. Just be careful with your research." The ymbryne gave Sophie a meaningful look.

"We don't want cats peeking at bird nests."

*

"I have to say, we people have an uncreative way of naming buildings." Sophie mumbled as she passed a sign in the hall that reads: Welcome to Office Building, information desk at your right.

John nodded in agreement.

From the first floor, they took the elevator to the basement. Sophie held a card to the panel and hit the B3 button. "The basements need assess card." She explained. "Something we borrowed from 2010s."

When they arrived at B3, they were welcomed by a long, straight corridor with many doors. Sophie led John to the one at the left end of the it.

"Welcome to the Peculiar Archive." She announced.

The Peculiar Archive looked like a hybrid of library and museum. Shelves and display cases covered in sheets towering above them as they walked by. At a corner, wooden boxes piled up high to the ceiling. Sophie led John to a side of the room where there was desks and lamps already set up. On some of the desks were old school computers or typewriters.

"Before you actually start your job, do you have any problems?" Sophie asked John.

"What exactly do we do here?" John asked.

"Mainly collecting and recording relics with peculiar nature, sometimes investigating our enemy's schemes from a peculiar point of view. We are basically a research institute focusing on things that are unnatural even by peculiar standards." She explained. "Now, would you please go to Aisle Six and retrieve all the files in C5 section. Shouldn't be much, there's mostly just books."