Yo, I'm reading The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells and it is so fricking weird! I mean, I love it because of how weird it is, and yeah.
The events that occurred after getting locked up consisted of sitting, standing, rattling the bars, and blocking out what everyone else was doing. It was quite boring and stressful, which was why I will only be explaining what happened in the last 4 hours (240 minutes) before our escape. All that is needed to be known from the past 48 hours (2880 minutes) was that I learned that my abdomen wound became affected and no doctors were sent to help it.
44 hours (2640 minutes) after imprisonment
"Fuck," I muttered to myself as I checked my side again. The area was hot and swollen, and while it hadn't been bleeding for a while, it definitely wasn't getting better.
I sat down in the corner of my cement prison cell, clutching my side, and trying not to pass out for the umpteenth time. Standing was basically impossible at the moment, so I just rested my head against the cool wall, and closed my eyes. If the wights weren't going to kill us, obviously the stab wound would. It already had caused too much trouble already, making it so I passed out at the wrong moments, like the time Miss Peregrine supposedly saw us all, but I was sleeping like a sick baby.
The only proof I had that she came was a pair of sewing needles Horace now had, as he beginning stitching up a lovely woolen scarf. He offered to make me one, but I just shook my head and told him I was fine. It was too bloody hot in the room, anyways, and I ran out of extra layers to strip out of without being seen as naked. Already I was just in an undershirt and pants, while my jumper and jacket were long gone (aka across the cell from me).
"Jacob and Emma will come for us," Olive said in the silence, once she noticed that our guard had dozed off.
"You said that an hour ago, love," Bronwyn said. I knew she was trying to act kind, but Olive's optimism became slowly unbearable by the minute.
"I imagine they're just watching the place right now," Olive continued. "Learning the guard's daily patterns, trying to find the perfect time to come and get us."
"Bollocks," Enoch replied. "You're just as sick as (Y/N) if you still think that. They probably died ages ago. Got shot down by the wights when they were on their patrol around the area, or maybe they realized it was useless to get us, so they started a little family on their own. We'll never see natural light for the rest of our lives, once the wights figure out we're useless and'll just kill us. Shoot our brains out right here in our cells."
I heard Olive stomp her foot. "But Addison said-"
"Screw what Addison said! He's almost as blind as those two kids we picked up along the way on our trip, and would have said anything if it meant impressing Miss Wren." Enoch began laughing to himself. "I betcha they're eating him right now at this moment--the wights. The only one of us whose got it good in here is (Y/N), 'cause she'll be dying of natural causes."
"Okay, that's enough making fun of me," I said. "I'll make sure to tell your last brain cell hello when I make it up to heaven with him." It was getting super hot in the room. "God, is anyone else dying of heat in here?"
"I think it's just you," Heather told me, as she squatted to sit across from me. She pulled out a mirror and tube of lip gloss from her purse, and began applying it. "I can't believe you hallucinated for me to be here with you in all white. That's just offensive."
I swatted at her. "Oh, you can stuff it."
"Who are you talking to?" I heard Millard ask me. "(Y/N), are you feeling alright?"
Imaginary Heather just laughed. "'Feeling alright?' Your boyfriend's a riot."
I ignored her, and decided to just answer Millard. "Oh, you know, just hallucinating that my dead cousin's with me. Is that a side effect of not treating a stab wound for more than three days? Or is it from dehydration? I can't quite remember."
Our guard decided that it was the perfect time to wake up from his eight hour nap. He must have fallen out of his chair, since he suddenly stopped snoring, and looked around wildly. For being a wight, this guy was super dumb, but I just ignored him, and closed my eyes again. I thought that he would have just gone back to sleep, if it wasn't for the clanging of the metal steps above us, meaning someone was coming. I opened my eyes again, and saw our guard stand up at attention.
Heather whistled, as she ran a hand through her long, curly blonde hair. "Ladies and gentleman, here comes the general."
A new wight appeared, and our guard relaxed. The new guy (I'm gonna call him Todd, because that's an evil name) came in with three loaves of bread, and a jug of water with cups. He handed the water jug to our guard--whose legitimate name was Funderburker--and grunted.
"Time to water the weeds," Todd said as he eyed us all carefully, as if we were rats.
"How come?" Funderburker asked. "We haven't been feeding 'em yet, and it seems that-"
"Caul's orders," Todd replied. "Says he wants to keep them alive. No clue why, though, since I say we should just shoot them."
They continued to talk as they passed out bits of bread and cups of water to all of us. The worst part was, they didn't even care that they were talking in front of us, which, quite frankly, was awfully rude. But the food was edible, and the water was drinkable, so I scooted over to grab some. Todd looked over at me, and sneered.
"I hope he doesn't want all of them alive," he told Funderburker, as he gestured over to me. "This one's as good as gone."
"Is that what your wife says about you when she looks at your-" I began, but Hugh signaled for me to shut up.
To my surprise, Todd smiled. He went over to my cell, and began leaning on one of the bars. Despite the fact that he had no pupils, I could feel him intensely staring at me.
"That's not good," Heather mumbled.
Todd began laughing. "I like you, girl. You're funny." Well, that wasn't what I was going for. "What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?" I spat.
"You're right, you have no reason to tell me," he said. This wight had this strange, almost German accent. "But if you do, maybe I can get someone to heal you. You're hurt, no?"
I just ignored him, and began picking at the bread. He walked away after realizing I wouldn't answer back, and began walking towards the stairs.
"Think about joining us," he told me. "We all need something to laugh at, once and a while."
I made sure to flip him off when he exited, and Funderburker sat back down in his chair. Lazily, he gestured towards me, and said, "Seems as if Malachi liked you."
I shuddered, and not from the chills of dying. I'd rather kill myself then become some toy for a wight, thank you very much!
There was nothing else to do, afterwards, since the show was now over. Everyone else realized this as well, and couldn't exactly start talking about what just happened with our guard still awake.
"What are you gonna do now?" Heather asked me. When I looked at her, she was no longer smiling.
"What am I supposed to do?" I whispered at her.
"Not wait around, I hope!" Heather said as she waved her arms around. "Look at this place! This can't be the end of (Y/N) (L/N), the magnificent Crayola Girl, lover of comic books and all things weird. Whenever something shitty hits you, you always stand back up. I didn't wake up from the dead to see you fail."
I just sighed, and hugged my knees. "Well, I'm sorry to break your spirits. I'm not the protagonist you think I am."
We were quiet like that for three and a half hours. It would have been more, if it wasn't for the loud ruckus from above us. It sounded almost as if the place was being attacked, although I highly doubted it. It woke Funderburker up, and he grabbed his rifle from under his chair, and made sure to secure the pistol at his hip. It seemed a bit over-the-top, but that was the wights for you.
The trapdoor to the basement creaked open, and two pairs of feet came running down. Curious, I scooted closer to the bars to see what was happening. Two people were standing in the middle of the stairs, although it was too dark to see their faces. However, it seemed as if the hands of one of them began the glow softly. Could it be.....?
"Didn't you hear the alarm?" One of them said in a faked gruff voice. "Why aren't you outside defending the walls?"
It seemed as if the gears of Funderburker's head were spinning for the first time in his life, as he raised up his rifle to shoot at them. The two shadows came running down at us, as Funderburker started shooting at them. He missed completely, and I watched the bullets go above their heads. Funderburker kept inching backwards, until his back was on the bars of Bronwyn's cell.
Bronwyn saw her chance, and grabbed him by his thin hair. With a sharp movement, she snapped his neck, and he fell over. She gasped, as our two new guests came into the light.
"Mister Jacob! Miss Emma!" Bronwyn called out as she grabbed the two by their collars and pulled them in for an awkward hug.
Emma seemed just as happy to see us as we were for her. "Bronwyn, is that really you?"
"Is that you, miss?" Bronwyn asked. "We've been praying and hoping and, oh, I was so worried the wights had got you....."
"Can't....breath!" Emma wheezed. Bronwyn quickly apologized, then let the two go.
"What did they do to you?" Jacob asked her, obviously worried about her beat-up face.
"Nothing serious," Bronwyn shrugged. "Though there's been threats."
"And strangely horrifying compliments," I added. "Though most of them were directed towards me. I don't blame them for noticing how amazing I am."
Imaginary Heather clapped her hands and laughed. "Now that's the (Y/N) I know and love!"
Emma finally spotted me, and came running over. She grabbed my hands, and squeezed them so tightly, that I was worried she was going to either break or burn my fingers off.
"Oh my god, what did they do to you?" Emma asked me.
"I don't look that bad, do I?" I jokingly asked, not actually wanting an answer.
"You look dead!" said Jacob. At least he was honest, I guess.
"Just an infected stab wound that wasn't properly treated," I shook off. "Bronwyn's great and all, but she's no medic."
"I told you them you'd come for us!" Olive said through teary eyes. "I told them and told them, but Enoch kept saying I was a loony for thinking so..."
"Never mind, they're here now!" Enoch exclaimed, laughing. "What took you so bloody long?"
"How in Perplexus' name did you find us?" Millard asked.
"We'll tell you the whole story," Emma said as she let go of my hand to look at everyone in the room. I still couldn't believe she was here! "But first we need to find the ymbrynes and get you all out of here!"
"They're down the hall," answered Hugh, pointing to his left. "Through the big door."
I wasn't quite sure when that was established, but I just assumed they learned this during one of the many times I had been passed out and almost dead. I looked over my right shoulder to find that at the end of the hallway was a large metal door with heavy locks. How did I not notice it before? Great question, although I guessed dying slowly might have been a bit distracting.
"You'll need the key," Bronwyn pointed out. She gestured towards Funderburker's (hopefully) dead body. "It's the big gold one; I've been watching him!"
Jacob fumbled with the key ring, but managed to get it off the body. It seemed as if he was just going to leave us behind, when Enoch reminded him that he still needed the rest of the keys to get us out.
"With which key?" Jacob asked, looking through each one.
The great thing about the key chain: It was obvious which gold key Bronwyn was talking about earlier, since it was the only gold key on the ring.
The bad thing: All the keys that unlocked our doors were nearly identical.
When Emma realized this, her face fell. "Oh no."
Jacob ran to the end of the hall, unlocked the metal door, then tossed the key ring to Hugh. "Free yourself and then the others!"
"Then stay here until we come back to get you," Emma ordered.
I just laughed. "You really expect us to do that after sitting here for two days straight? Don't hog all the fun for yourself, Em!"
"You better believe we're coming after you!" Hugh agreed.
Emma smiled, and ran into the hall. Jacob went to follow, but hesitated at the door, and looked back at us.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked him. "Go!"
Jacob nodded and left.
After unlocking himself and Bronwyn, Hugh gave her half of the keys, and they split up to open the doors. Hugh was able to unlock mine, but he frowned at my state.
"What should we do about your wound?" he asked me.
I looked around the room, and spotted a wooden pole. I had no clue what it was supposed to be used for, but to me, it looked like a very lovely walking stick. Also, it would be great for thwacking wights with, if need be. I told this to Hugh, and he smiled.
"Thank God I'm not your enemy," he said as he grabbed the stick for me. "Otherwise I'd have to hide from you forever."
I grabbed the stick from his hand, and used it to pull myself up. I almost fell at the start, but managed to learn how to balance with it. Carefully, I removed my weight off of the stick, and swung it around like a cricket bat. Too bad I couldn't put nails in the bottom, otherwise it would have been the perfect weapon.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bronwyn open up Millard's cell. He ran over to me, and pulled me into his arms. I dropped my new cane, and tried hugging back.
"Oh my god! (Y/N)!" He fumbled to say. "I hated seeing you get so sick and I couldn't do anything and-"
"Hey, no, I'm fine," I promised. "Let's just get out of here and hope to invade a doctor's office, okay?"
He laughed, and gently kissed me. I just gave him a peck on the lips after, and asked for him to grab my stick, since I wasn't really ready to walk on my own, yet. But when he let go of me to grab it, I immediately fell on him.
"Looks like I'll never stop falling for you," I told him.
"Do you mean it this time?" he asked while helping me up and giving me my cane.
"I've always meant it," I answered with a smile. "Take that jumpsuit off, though. It's absolutely awful to look at, love."
* * *
Together, we ran through each hallway, looking for Jacob and Emma. We raided every room possible, and had to delay to release trapped peculiars who were forcefully stuffed into cages and cells like we originally were. There was no rhyme or reason to any of it, and I still had no clue how the wights were able to navigate through it all. I was in such a rush to find Emma again, that I didn't even take a close look at everyone in the rooms.
"There you go," Bronwyn said as she opened the cork to a glass jar, maybe only a foot tall. She tipped it on its side, so the tiny adult inside could crawl out. "You should be safe now."
The guy jumped up in the air for joy, and we were about to leave, when we heard something crash in the next room. Bronwyn ran out of the room and into the next one to see what was wrong. Everyone followed suit, except for Millard, who stayed to make sure I didn't fall. Sure, the cane was useful, but I still couldn't quite get used to it. Let's just say it's much better to thwack people with, than for leaning on.
When I actually got into the neighboring room, a wight was passed out on the floor, and Bronwyn was helping break the handcuffs a prisoner was forced to wear. The room would have been empty if it wasn't for the large metal table and chairs in the center. It looked like an interviewing room that they have in the American police shows on the telly. The prisoner kept cursing in Italian, as Bronwyn kept trying to tell him that it would be okay.
When she released him, the man put on a pair of black-tinted glasses from his coat pocket, and stood up. He looked to be maybe in his late forties, although time was an iffy subject when ymbrynes were involved. He seemed to have been in okay shape, despite the ripped jacket and bruise just below his right jaw bone.
"The bastard will pay for thees!" The man said as he pointed to his graying beard. He stomped over to the unconscious wight, and spat on him. "Thousands of years in hiding, only for them to pull me out of my loop."
Millard found the man's bag from under the table, and pulled it out. He began rummaging through the cloth sack, pulling out unnecessary things like quills and parchment on the table, and looking for important things. I walked over to see what was in the bag, when Millard pulled out a large book and scanned through the pages. I could hear him muttering the passages out loud under his breath until he gasped.
"These are Perplexus Anomalous' notes!" Millard announced. "It's the same handwriting as the Map of Days. How did you get them?"
"Get them?" the strange man repeated with a snort. "I wrote them. If it wasn't for the blasted Wights kidnapping me two days ago, I would still be in sweet old 1359."
"We need to get you to your loop before you turn to dust!" Millard gasped. "Oh Mister Perplexus, I am a huge fan. I'm Millard, by the way. Millard Nullings, and I own a good number of your maps. Did I mention that I'm a fan?"
I slipped my hand in Millard's, hoping he'd get the signal to shut up. His quirky way of repeating himself and talking fast when he was excited was cute and all, but kinda really embarrassing at the moment. We were, after all, standing in front of a very old and very wise (if not a little crazy) peculiar, and we didn't want to get on his bad side.
"I'm sorry for him," I told Anomalous. "We used your maps to keep us sane in our loop, so you'd kinda expect him to be a bit excited." I made sure to squeeze Millard's hand tight enough to hurt. "But I do love him very much!"
He finally understood to stop scaring the old man.
"We still need to find Emma and Jacob," Bronwyn noted.
Hugh was already walking towards the door frame, obviously fine with leaving the rest of us there.
"Perplexus can come with us!" Millard piped in. "If he wants to, that is."
The man just shrugged. I thought that he would have stayed in the interrogation room, but he followed all the rest of us. Which was fine, I guess. We all raided the other rooms, which became more bizarre by the second, with less and less people each time.
Finally, we got to a room that strongly resembled a chemistry lab. It had the basic sterile white everything, with tables full of papers and beakers of unimaginable liquids (too many of these fluids were black and red). At first glance, it seemed as if no one was in there, until we noticed the large glass window and heavy metal door across from us. As a group, we walked over to it, and Hugh was able to find a button that turned on the room lights.
They flickered at first, but popped into bright, white light, where bodies both real and fake were laced in an impossible pattern through furniture pieces and white cloth sheets. It almost looked like the attic of an older family who never cleaned up, except there was blood and disassembled mannequin pieces everywhere. I scanned for a familiar face throughout the crowd, but mostly just found older women, all tied up and all very scared.
Oh god, were these all of the ymbrynes?
But then I noticed a smaller figure, all bloodied up and lying in the corner, passed out. Dust particles drifted in the air near her, and I watched carefully as one landed on her nose.
"Emma," I said breathily, and ran over to the door that separated the two rooms.
The door was locked, so we had Bronwyn break it down. I warned everyone to cover up their faces from the particals floating around, knowing that they could have been anything. We grabbed Emma, and was about to move her, when I recognized someone else.
Unlike the other passed out bodies around her, Miss Peregrine began stirring.
She was alive.
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