Audibility- A Miss Peregrines Fanfiction #1

The Search Continues

Emma was waiting for us by the door.

"You found them!" She said. "Wait! Where's Charlotte?"

"She's stuck in the harbor. They're trying to get her back." I said.

Emma collapsed into a chair in the living room. "I hope they find her."

I don't think any of us slept that night waiting for them to return. Night changed to day, with only the noise of bombs cuing us to the fact time had changed.

"What if they've all aged?" I asked.

"They're smarter than that Netta, you know." Horace said.

"Oh, this is awful, all my fault." Emma sobbed.

"Emma, it's not your fault! How many times do we have to tell you that?" Enoch said.

"I can tell you don't care!" Emma shot back.

"Why don't you think he don't care, Emma?" Asked Olive.

"Who are you to say I don't care?"

"You're acting like five year olds, stop." Horace groaned.

"You stay out of this, dream boy."

"Shut up!" I screamed. "It's not anybody's fault, Emma! And Enoch, you're not helping the situation shouting at her! We have bigger problems right now to focus on." I sunk down to the floor and cried. Everyone was silent for a minute. Then we all started.

"They're not going to come back." Claire sobbed.

"It's going to be okay, Claire." Said Charlotte.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you Emma." Enoch said, exhaling.

"I shouldn't have overreacted." Emma replied.

~*~
Horace say, leaning against the window. It had started to rain. Suddenly he sat upright.

"They're back, all of them!" He called.

"Yes!" I cried, lifting my fist in the air.

The door opened, and they all passed through the doorway. Two key people were missing.

"Where have Hugh and Millard gone?" Emma asked.

"I saw Marcie running and came after her, but we got separated." Bronwyn replied.

"So you left them behind in the future where they can age?" Enoch said.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Bronwyn hesitated.

"What if we find them and they're 40 years old?" I asked.

"I've seen The Bird make a salve or something."

Let's go find them." I said. So once again we went out to find more people missing.
We walked down through the woods to the cairn and came out to open sunlight. After walking through the town we heard the sound of glass breaking and shuffling in an alley behind a shop. We went to investigate and stopped when we saw them.

They hadn't aged luckily, but weren't looking so good. Millard, as far as I could tell, looked okay, he was sitting on the ground with his overcoat wrapped around him. Hugh was dirt stained and had a bloody lip.

"What happened to you?" I asked him.

"I picked a fight with a drunken man and barely escaped." He said. "Millard's gone and sprained his ankle and I don't know where to move him."

"There's an exit out the back." Said Emma, returned from scouting the area.

"Oh, the pain." Millard said as we lifted him up onto Bronwyn's shoulder.

A trip back through the cairn was uneventful, till we opened the door to see The Bird standing in the doorway.

"What have you done?" She asked.

"You see Miss, it's a long story..." Enoch began.

"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I've got nothing but time." She led all of us into the parlor and sat us down.

"Miss Bloom, I expect you to tell me the truth. What has been going on while I was away?"

Emma broke down immediately and told her the whole story. The headmistress listened through most of it.

"What were you thinking? You could have been abducted by wights for heavens sake! I had no means of contacting you. Never again shall I leave you unattended. I have never seen such irresponsible behavior."

The scolding went on and on. I had never felt more ashamed, and it was barely directed to me.

"Now I hope you've learned your lesson, children. Now up to bed, all of you, no dinner tonight."
Feet ran upstairs straight to their bedrooms, no hesitations.