CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PRACTICALLY DEAD
Miss Peregrine took her time to explain everything to us, including how everyone like themselves (those who call themselves peculiar) lives. Everyone lives in a Loop, of sorts, with a Ymbryne (which is what Miss Peregrine is), Ymbrynes having the ability to shapeshift and control time. This was a safe place for peculiar to live without the threat of the outside world. Over and over, these peculiars repeat the same day. How exhausting.
When Miss Peregrine excused us for the evening, we were asked to stay for supper, which we gladly agreed towards doing. We were told to wash before coming down for supper, so Jacob and I took turns taking a bath and changing into more appropriate clothes for the time. Jacob being given old clothes Abe once left behind, and Emma gave me a blue dress she had to spare, though she seemed pretty reluctant at first.
Once finished, Jacob and I laughed at each other and looked in the older style clothes, it seemed rather fitting for the time, but for what we are used to, this was like dress up, my newly cleaned docs not suiting the outfit too well.
We walked the hallways together, taking our time to meet at the dining room, both walking off on one another at some point when I wasn't paying attention. Distracted, I walked into a room whose door was open a crack. After all, an open door is always inviting in an unknown dwelling unless it opened itself in a creepy horror movie sort of way.
The room itself seemed relatively harmless from the outside, but once walking in... it was anything but. It reminded me of the basement, though in vibrant colour. The window, albeit a little dirty, allowing enough light to shine through that I could see the countless glasses lining the shelves to the far right wall of the room, the same organelle contents being found inside.
The middle of the wooden-floored room belonged a large desk with all sorts of dolls, clay, fabrics and even a few dead rats in containers. Slightly disgusted, I couldn't help myself but step forward and picked up a glass case that had a rat safely preserved from within. I wrinkled my nose, wondering how old it was. Perhaps it was only a day old, caught the fateful morning before the Loop was put into action.
"You'd do best not to snoop around." The voice caused me to jump, startled at the sudden cut through the silence, and I quickly fumbled for the glass casing that slipped through my grasp, my heart beating rapidly within my chest. I turned around only to see a snotty looking brat glaring down at me. I noticed him straight away, even though I had never actually seen his face within any of those pictures shown to me by my grandfather.
"Enoch," I said, slightly relieved that this place wasn't as haunted as I had first thought. The brown-haired boy cocked his head to the sighed with furrowed brows. He had no idea who I was. "I'm incredibly sorry. I didn't mean to snoop."
"How do you know who I am?" He asked after a long pause, his voice inquisitive.
"Abe told me about you, about all of you. Your abilities are quite..." I scrunched up my nose, being confronted with the actual reality of his powers and the grotesque nature of it. "Fascinating." I finished: "Maybe you could show me one day?" I asked, remembering all the times as a child were I had dreamed of what it was like to watch the dolls come to life and interact as if they were alive.
"D-dinners ready. We should head down now." He quickly said, stumbling over his words, eyes wide from the sudden interest. I laughed slightly, noting a pink tinge to his cheeks and feeling more relieved that he wasn't about to yell at me for stepping into his room without permission.
I was quick to take my exit, not wishing to stay any longer than permitted. After all, I was starving after barely eating all day. I turned back around, not being able to hear his steps behind. "Are you coming?" I asked. His brows furrowed as I smiled.
"Yeah... I'm coming." He grumbled like a teenage boy who was still in the middle of a game, but his mother made him shut it down to join the family for dinner.
My appetite that had previously arisen at the mention of dinner quickly diminished as I was faced with Millard, the -not-quite- invisible boy, after walking through the double doors that lead towards the dining room. A scream left my lips uncontrollably, and I stumbled to cover my eyes in my disgusted freight. A groan from Millard could be heard, and two pairs of footsteps followed by a chuckle that I believe came from Enoch, who stood behind.
"What happened? Is everything alright, dear?" Miss Peregrine's voice filled my ears.
"Millard, I told you, you can't walk around naked anymore. You're going to make the poor girl go mad." Came Emma as she growled at the invisible boy.
"Why is everyone making a fuss out of this?" A little girls voice spoke up, seeming confused.
Though the only thing I could think of was the pasty white boy as I shrunk to the ground. I didn't sign up for this. "She can see Millard," Emma explained to the crowd around her.
"What do you mean? No one can see Millard, and he's invisible!" A males voice spoke up, accompanied by the buzz of bees.
"You can open your eyes now, dear." Miss Peregrine said, Jacob, coming over and helping me stand. As soon as I was standing, I removed my hands from my face and shuddered. Thankfully Millard was now fully dressed.
"I thought I was rather fetching, yet you act like you've seen the Boogie Man every time you see me." Millard huffed, pulling back his mousy locks as he sent the girl a smirk and wink.
"If I wanted to see a naked boy, you wouldn't be it," I replied, rolling my eyes, already knowing that we were either going to get along very well or hate each other - no in between.
"Alright, dinner." Miss Peregrine said, clapping her hands together. The table seemed to be crowded by an extra chair as one side seemed more cramped than the other.
Everyone went around the table introducing themselves to Jacob and me, him having taken a seat between Hugh and Enoch while I took a seat in between the Floral girl I had seen pruning the hedges earlier; Fiona, and a younger girl named Claire. I grabbed what I wished from the table and put it on my plate, digging into a dinner-worthy for a king - compared to the crap served to us at the Priests Hole and wondering who was the cook of the house.
When the conversation at the table turned to the children asking many questions about the future and what arrived, Miss Peregrine was quick to dismiss the questions—telling them that it doesn't concern them and would do them nicely not to go searching for no good things.
Everyone's attention turned to the little girl beside me as Miss Peregrine quickly changed the conversation after noticing that the little girl wasn't eating. Hugh, however, was quick to explain that she was embarrassed to eat in front of us and encouraged the small girl like a loving brother.
"Don't be, please." Jacob was quick to dismiss her embarrassment. The little girl smiled as she grabbed the chicken drumstick and placed it at the back of her head, bringing back only bone, startling myself as I noticed a sharp row of teeth behind her head. I smiled nonetheless, feeling bad for her and not wanting to cause any more embarrassment.
"So, Jacob. What's your peculiarity? We seem to have figured out Sophia's, as she can see Millard, but what are you?" Horace spoke up, his voice sophisticated, matching the clothes he wore.
"Oh, I'm not." He said. The others were looking between themselves with little, confused looks. But Jacob quickly changed the topic, feeling uncomfortable, "Do you mind if I ask how old you all are?" He asked. I nodded in agreement, setting down my knife and fork to listen.
"I'm eighty-three," Horace explained. He looked no older than 12, and I wondered how they kept track of the time when it's the same day, over and over.
"I'm nearly eighty-seven." Millard piped up, a smile spreading across his face. To me, he looked as though he was about 15 years old.
"I'll be seventy-five and a half next week!" Olive smiled, the little girl being strapped down to her chair with a seat belt of sorts, her slight smile making her seem young and innocent though she appeared to be 11 years old.
"I'm either one-hundred-seventeen or one-hundred-eighteen. I lived in another loop before this one." Enoch informed. I nodded intently. Though he looked to be 17 or 18, it was hard to hear how old he was. It would be nice to know how old everyone's bodies were, though, instead of me just guessing. Though Enoch's age still was a shock, he would be dead if he was his actual age. No way can someone live that long.
Once we had wholly gone around the table, skipping me, everyone turned to the two of us, Millard being the one to be the first to ask, "Are you two twins, or is one older than the other?"
"We're twins." I smiled at the boy, trying my hardest to forget about it earlier. "We turned sixteen the other week." Once I told them my age, it was odd to see their looks of surprise. It must've been strange for them to know we're so young.