A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 40

AN: So since Millard was not in any of the final battle scenes in the movie (such a shame) I thought, hmmm what could he have been up to while the others were fighting Barron? This chapter is what my mind came up with and I'm honestly so proud of it! I really hope you all like this as much as I do, it's been a while since a full chapter of just my ideas without anything from the book or movie and it was really nice to exercise that part of my brain again. Enjoy!!

Chapter 40

"Someone's got to be the hero." {Millard Nullings, pg 312 book 1"}

Millard had made his way down into the brick halls underneath the main floor of the tower. His mind kept thinking back to the strange tracks and black blood he'd seen at the railroad crossing. There was something that just wasn't adding up and his mind craved an answer.

He found the room where the ymbrynes were again and tried the handle, again with no luck. He began to look around for anything he could use to pick the lock or pry the door open with, but the hallway was spotless. He walked down a few tunnels looking for anything, but so far the only thing he'd seen was an old janitors mop and bucket.

"Such determination." Came as raspy voice from behind him as he turned to see a wight, his skin was as white as his eyes and looked thin and wrinkled like parchment paper. His clothes were tattered and he had several cuts on his face, he looked like he'd been hit by a train. Thinking back to where Millard had found the black blood the wight probably had been. But he'd also been strong enough to survive getting hit by something that had been moving at approximately forty miles an hour – at least – and was able to get up and keep going.

"Peculiars without an ymbryne usually become so hopeless." The wight continued as he walked toward Millard.

"But your group insists on fighting back. Tsk, tsk, that will only make your deaths worse in the end."

Millard took off, running from hall to hall trying to lose the wight, being invisible this usually was an easy thing to accomplish. However, the wight kept following him and Millard had no idea how. Soon his luck ran out and he hit a dead end.

"I've heard Barron say you're the clever one." The wight said as he approached Millard, "Let me indulge you in a final lesson. My peculiarity is reptilian in nature, more specifically my sense of sight. I've never seen colors but rather see the world the same way a snake does." Millard racked his brain for anything that could give him an advantage. Snakes see with their ability to detect infrared radiation from the warm bodies of their prey. And that meant. . .

"I can see you, boy."

Millard gulped and ran for it. He tried to dive past the wight but the man could see him clear as day and shot his arm out slamming Millard into the brink wall where he crumbled to the floor in pain. The wight might look frail but if Millard had learned anything from living with Bronwyn it was that even someone who looked weak could pack a wallop. Millard started inching along the floor, he didn't have time to catch his breath and stand so he made do with crawling away. But the wight was as quick as he was strong and dove for Millard grabbing at his legs.

The wight's fingers gripped his ankle like a constrictor strangling its prey and Millard couldn't break free. Then he saw the mop, not far from where he'd landed and he stretched his body as far as his muscles would allow. The wight's other hand joined the first and pulled Millard back along the cold stone floor. He tried kicking the man in the face with his free leg – he only needed a few more inches. He scrambled as best he could reaching for the mop, his fingers brushed the smooth wood, Just a little more!

Giving one last lunge, and nearly popping his arm from its socket, Millard's hand gripped the pole. He swung the mop around and clocked the wight right in the face, causing his head to snap to the side. In his disorientation he'd let go of Millard and the invisible took the opportunity to run. He kept the mop in his hand, his only defense, and turned blindly down more hallways. He found an unlocked door and rushed inside. It was a small storage closet, quickly locking the door from the inside and propping the mop across to help reinforce it Millard began searching the shelves for anything he could use.

The wight had snake-like peculiarities, so far Millard knew about his sight, speed and strength. The shelves to his right held toilet paper, towels, soap, air freshener, spare light bulbs, tissue boxes, and trash bags none of which would help him.

BANG!

Came the loud echoing noise as the door shook and splintered slightly as the wight tried to break his way in. Millard's heart jumped into his throat as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He began looking through the shelves on the left, most of it was first aid kits. He opened one, bandages, aspirin, muscle relaxer, disinfectant, thermometer, - wait. Muscle relaxer, Millard picked up the tube, snakes were made of mostly muscle; but how would he be able to use it against the wight? Millard's head snapped side to side as he searched desperately for anything else. Luckily, there was another bucket on the floor, he grabbed it and began opening up the first aid kits. He grabbed every tube of muscle relaxer he could find and began squeezing them into the bucket.

There was the repetitive Bang! Bang! Bang! As the wight continued to hit the door but Millard didn't let it stop his work. When he was done – and he prayed he had enough to make this work – he placed the bucket on the highest shelf in the corner closest to the door. Then he loosened the screws holding the shelving unit together and stood back just as the wight's fist came through the wood. His pale hand found the handle and unlocked the door. The hinges creaked as the door swung open slowly revealing the wight, who looked upset that he had to wait this long to kill Millard.

"Though I may no longer require them, I will still take great pleasure in eating your eyeballs from their sockets." He hissed as he stepped through the door. Millard took his chance and kicked the shelving unit, the legs he'd loosened collapsed and tilted the bucket in the wight's direction. The bucket fell and landed on the wight's head, direct hit! Covering him in the medical cream. The wight didn't seem to realize what it was Millard had dropped on him and must have assumed it was another distraction as Millard tried to run past him again.

However, the doorway wasn't as wide as the halls were and the wight – though blinded by the bucket on his head felt Millard trying to sneak by. He grabbed Millard's arm and spun him around holding him in a headlock. With his free hand he first removed the bucket from his head then used his hand to grab Millard's hair, preparing to snap his neck. Then he gasped. His grip on Millard loosened as his muscles turned to jelly. Soon he didn't even have the ability to stand as he fell to the floor. Millard pushed himself up grabbing one of the empty tubes.

"Lasts between three to four hours." He read off the label, "Have fun."

oOo oOo oOo

As he hobbled through the halls, still aching from being tossed into the wall, he heard footsteps rushing toward him. From around the corner came Enoch and Aurora. He was happy to see that she looked alright, not a scratch on her, thank bird.

"Millard!" she said with a mixture of joy and relief as she ran to him and hugged him tight. When they pulled apart he turned to Enoch.

"Where are the others?"

"Olive's leading them back to the loop entrance, she sent me to find Jake and Emma."

"The door where the ymbrynes are is that way." He said then realizing that unlike the wight his friends couldn't see him, "Down that hall, first staircase, second door on your left." He explained. Enoch nodded and followed Millard's directions as Aurora took his hand in hers.

"We should get to the loop."