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'...she stretched out her wing, reaching to the point where the pain began to take a hold of her...'
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Nellie couldn't help but glare at her sister's ghost as she whispered numerous questions into her ear about Victor, who was standing right next to them. He hadn't let her hand go since they kissed, not that she minded; it felt nice. They were following Enoch who had become impatient whilst waiting for Jake and Emma to find the loop that Mr Barron had used, he had said that something didn't feel right. The Ambros twins had shaken their heads and laughed quietly at the boy, he had always been rather protective over all of the girls after Abe left.
As they reached the dining hall, Enoch paused for a moment allowing everyone to listen in to the conversation that Jake and Emma were having. Nellie didn't really care what they were talking about as she leant into Victor's side, one of his arms holding her in place as she began to whisper to Rosie; finally answering the questions she had. The younger twin had asked many things, like was Victor a good kisser and how had things played out leading up to the moment. It had caused Nel to blush furiously as Victor chuckled at them, hearing every word Rosie had said.
Though their conversation was cut when Enoch pushed the doors open with a loud bang, 'So, have we found Miss Avocet's loop on the map yet?'
Nellie smirked as Jake and Emma jumped away from each other before Jake picked up the map and walked towards them, 'It's here, but it's new, she made it earlier this year. It's my year. If we don't get out before it closes, we're stuck in January 2016.'
'Great!' Enoch chided angrily; 'So time catches up with all of us, we all die; except you. Plan?'
'Loop closes at 4:30. That means, we need to get in, rescue the Ymbrynes and get out.'
'Yeh, if we're not already dead. Miss Avocet said the machine is in the cellar of the Blackpool Tower building. That means we'll be indoors with Hollows.'
All the children turned to look at each other with scared eyes at Enoch's words, he was right; they wouldn't be able to see them which means they could die within seconds of entering the building. Nellie squeezed Victor's hand tighter, before she grabbed Rosie's hand as well.
'No, we won't. I've got a plan, but I'm going to need your help,' Jake stated as his eyes moved to look at every person in front of him.
It was hours before the ship pulled up at a pier in Blackpool, the sky was cloudy and there was no one in sight; well no one alive that was. As Nellie walked down the gangway and onto pier, there were ghosts everywhere; bad and good. There were men, women and children everywhere; some looking out at the sea while others walked together. It was as though they weren't in the middle of a war, instead it was just a normal day in Blackpool.
She smiled at a mother and daughter as they walked past her, the little girl waved at her before skipping ahead after her father. Her gaze moved around the pier watching everyone until she saw Rosie talking animatedly to an old woman, grinning widely as the lady spoke to her. Nellie turned to tell Victor about what was going on, until she remembered he was still on the boat with the rest of the children; Jake had asked them to wait five minutes before coming through the loop. They had devised a well thought out plan, it had taken them the whole trip over to do it.
Nellie smiled as Rosie waved her over to where she stood with the elderly woman, the large grin still on her face. The girl didn't waste a second running over, and introducing herself to the lady; whose name was Elizabeth. She was very sweet and loving, she could tell by the way the woman spoke.
'Rosie had told me so much about you over the years, young lady. She is very lucky to have you as a sister,' Elizabeth smiled.
'I think I'm the lucky one,' Nel replied before a yell came from behind her causing her to turn around and see all the children waiting for her and her sister; 'I'm very sorry, but we have to go. It was a pleasure meeting you, Elizabeth. '
'All is good, my dear. I'm sure I'll plenty more stories about you when Rose comes to visit.'
'I'm sure you will.'
The twins said their goodbyes to the woman before running back up the pier to meet the children, who had confused looks on their faces after seeing the girls talking to the air. They shook it off and made their way to the old ride where the loop was hidden, Nellie turned and blew a kiss towards Rosie who was going to stay back and help Enoch; stating she had much to catch up on with the boy.
Nellie walked beside Victor as they passed through the loop, shocking all the children as the ride came to life with bright flashing lights and music. They pushed through the door and out into the cool air on the other side, standing on the snow that had fallen the previous day. There were many people on the pier, and many more carnival rides that made odd noises with flashing lights.
'Come on. We can look at the lights later we need to prepare for when the Hollows come,' Nellie said before she began ushering the children forward; 'Fiona, Olive and Hugh, we need lots of candy. Buckets of it. You must steal them, but don't get caught. The rest you, we need to get on roof of this building and start making snowballs. Let's go.'
Everyone dispersed quickly, Rosie carrying the little ones up onto the roof as the others climbed. Nellie climbed up after them, her fingers instantly digging into the snow as she scooped it up and made it into a ball. She placed it to the side and began making another one, before she looked up to see Emma coming towards them slowly. She sped up then, making four more by the time the Hollows got there. Fiona and Hugh had brought up the buckets of lollies only moments before, five of them; each with a different type of candy inside. Nellie thanked them quickly as they ducked down to hide.
'Now!' Jake yelled from below before he ran back through the loop.
Nellie was the first to throw a snowball at the air behind the white eyed man that had followed Jake and Emma, the rest of the children copying her actions. Slowly parts of the Hollows began to show as the snow stuck to their skin, though they quickly ran out of snowballs and moved to phase two as Fiona had yelled out. The children stuck their hands into the buckets of lollies and started to throw it at the floating patches of snow, causing people to stop and look at them funny.
More and more parts of the Hollows began to show as the lollies stuck to them, before Emma did the final part of the decoration as she blew cotton candy into the air and onto the Hollows. People began to scream as the monsters became very clear to the eye, Nellie smiled at the children; congratulating them on their efforts. As the building beneath them began to shake, she knew that Enoch and Rosie had done their part as the skeletons from the ship ran out onto the pier; each armed with some sort of weapon, whether it was a broom or a chef's knife.
They watched as they attacked the Hollows, before they moved from the roof and onto the ground; each finding a hiding place while the monsters were distracted. Nellie ducked behind a food stall with Bronwyn, waving slightly at Rosie who appeared beside Enoch after they exited the loop. The girl nodded subtly towards her, allowing Nel to know Rose knew where she was before she walked out onto the snow and stood beside Jake as he watched the show.
One by one all the Hollows were killed, except for one which Bronwyn had seen and pointed out to her. They watched as a single skeleton started to fight it, but it was clear to the girls that it wasn't going to win the fight. As Nellie went to move Bronwyn and herself to a new hiding spot, she realised the little girl was gone and when she found her she was stepping onto a merry-go-round.
'Bronwyn,' She called out, but the girl in white couldn't hear her.
Nellie was surprised when the little girl twisted the plastic pony off its pole and launched it into the Hollows chest, causing it to fall off the pier and into the water. The girl shook her head with a relieved chuckled before she ran out to get Bronwyn, picking her up and hugging her tight; throwing her onto her shoulders and walked over to where the rest of the children had grouped up. Bronwyn's hands sat lightly on her head as Nellie held her in place, hands wrapped around her ankles as the little girl waved at her brother.
'Alright, good job guys. It's time for step two,' Jake said slightly out of breath.
'Save the Miss Peregrine,' Bronwyn cheered.
'That's... sort of step three. First we've got to deal with Barron.'
'Come on,' Victor waved his hand as he started jogging after Jake.
Everyone followed after the two boys, Nellie placed Bronwyn back on the ground; the little girl gripping her hand as they began to run up the pier. Peoples stares continued to follow the odd looking children up as they ran off, they had no clue what was going on and nor would they ever; for they were simply humans.
As they reached Blackpool Tower the children went silent, taking in the gestures Jake was flashing at them; grouping them before sending them off in different directions. Nellie was placed with Rosie and Victor, following the pair up the stairs till they reached the top floor. They peaked over the railing to find Mr Barron talking loudly to the rest of his colleagues, all of them having horrid white eyes.
'Victor, I need you to take my bandage off please,' Nellie whispered.
'No, Nel. There's no way your wing is healed yet,' The boy replied.
'If they see I have a weakness they'll target me. Please Victor.'
With a huff, he began to unwrap her wing quietly; Rosie was behind her in an instant to examine the damage. She shook her head but moved away from her sister, knowing there was no way to convince her to sit out of the fight that was about to endure. Nellie closed her eyes briefly as she stretched out her wing, reaching to the point where the pain began to take a hold of her before she stopped.
She looked to her side to find that her wing wasn't even halfway extended, causing her to huff in annoyance before she tucked it back onto he back and looked down at the people below. She knew there was about to be a fight, a dangerous one. But she also knew that if the children worked together they could win it. And that's exactly what she planned on doing, because she wasn't dying today. The only person that was, was the person that started it all. The one that killed her sister. Mr Barron.