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

Chapter 88

"Everything you need is inside you already." {Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine, pg 322 book 3}

"Aurora! We've got it! We've got it!" Hugh shouted as he ran through the door to the office where his friends all were. Enoch, Emma and Jacob were right behind him, Emma had Mira in her arms and Jake had a vial held securely in his fist. Aurora found herself equally relieved and appalled to see Millard's second soul, black and silvery corked in a bottle when it should be inside him where it belonged. Her eyes drifted back to him, We have it Mill, it won't be long now. I'll help you, you'll be okay soon.

Jacob knelt beside her with the vial, "So. . . any idea how we start this?"

Aurora took a deep breath feeling like she was about to perform brain surgery for the first time without any training or even a step by step guide. It all rested in her hands now, they had everything they needed, now it all fell on her shoulders. If she failed it would cost Millard his life and there were so many ways she could fail, there was only one way to succeed and she had no idea how to find it. She took another deep breath and silently prayed to God and the Birds that what she did next would be the right thing.

"Well, "she began her voice already sounding uncertain, "They removed his soul from his heel so we should start there."

Their first problem was that the cuts in his heel had long healed and closed when she'd been tending to him earlier. Luckily, it didn't stop them.

"I've got it." Enoch said pulling out the scalpel he'd stolen before and kneeling down to Millard's feet. With all his years of experience reanimating corpses Enoch was probably the most qualified to perform the task. Olive stayed by his side helping however she could either by dabbing the blood away from the wound so Enoch could see what he was doing or passing him other necessary items. They made the perfect team and in no time there were three parallel lines in Millard's sole identical to what they'd seen on the experimented peculiars back in the archive building. Enoch held the cuts open as Aurora shifted so she was beside him. She tried to control her shaking hands as she uncorked the bottle with the missing piece of Millard. She couldn't afford to spill one drop so Olive lifted Millard's foot at a better angle. Aurora rested one hand on the curve where his foot met his leg and began using her gift, thanks to Enoch the cuts didn't heal but hopefully Aurora's gift would help Millard's second soul return to him properly. She tipped the vial and let one fat black drop drip into the cut Enoch held open and she let a few more drops fall but had to stop when it looked like the black liquid might overflow outside of the wound.

"Let me close it up." She told Enoch handing Hugh the vial as he put the stopper back in the top. It looked just as full as before like they'd done nothing which didn't help pick up their spirits. Enoch let go of the skin on Millard's heel and Aurora used her gift to seal it. Then Enoch took Millard's other foot and made the same three incisions.

"We'll have to do this a few drops at a time." he said turning to Aurora. "It's going to be a long process. Are you up for it?"

"Yes." She nodded without hesitation. She knew she only had so much energy in her but even if she used too much of herself, bringing back Millard would be worth it. She took the vial from Hugh again and felt pressure on her free hand. She turned to see Emma beside her, the blonde smiled reassuringly and Aurora was reminded of what Mother Dust had told her. She was destined for greater things, could this be what she'd meant?

oOo oOo oOo

It was hours later and they were just now using the last drops of Millard's soul. Aurora had nearly passed out several times but she always had someone holding her hand supporting her, either Emma, Hugh, Bronwyn, Claire, Jake – anyone. Her heart swelled at her friend's encouragement and she found herself having enough strength to push through and continue the job. In the meantime the wights had assembled and were trying to blast the door to the office down, it only made it harder for her to concentrate when every twenty minutes a dull boom went off and bits of the ceiling fell.