{Pic is mine}
{ Edited - 26th April, 2024 }
Jake and his father had to leave within a few days, and this news had a slight impact on Emma, especially. Emma passionately argued multiple times, trying to convince Jake to stay. However, she failed to acknowledge the life he would be leaving behind, no matter how modest it seemed. She also didn't consider the potential effect on his parents or the suffocating feeling she herself admitted to experiencing inside the loop. Her only plea was, "With you here, it'll be better."
Jake took the initiative to approach Miss Peregrine, but unfortunately, she wasn't very helpful. She simply stated that she couldn't make the decision for him. However, it was clear that she wanted him to stay.
Not only would his presence in the loop ensure his own safety, but it would also contribute to the safety of everyone else. Eventually, we had a private conversation in my room where Jake opened up and shared everything. He explained that joining the peculiar children meant sacrificing the opportunity to finish high school, attend college, or engage in any of the typical experiences of growing up.
I had to constantly remind him that he wasn't like everyone else. With hollows on his trail, living outside the loop would likely lead to a short life filled with fear and paranoia. Waiting for them to return and end it all sounded much scarier than missing out on college.
He spent days pondering over the decision of staying or leaving. Meanwhile, at the peculiar children's home, Miss Peregrine implemented strict measures. It felt as if martial law had been imposed: the younger children were not allowed to venture out without supervision, and the older ones had to move in pairs, with Miss Peregrine keeping track of everyone's whereabouts. Even obtaining permission to step outside became a challenging task.
Sentries were assigned to take turns keeping watch over the front and back of the house. Throughout the day and into the night, you could catch glimpses of weary faces peeking out from the windows. If they caught sight of anyone coming near, they would pull a chain that rang a bell in Miss Peregrine's room. This signalled that whenever Jake showed up, Miss Peregrine would be ready by the door to question him.
What was happening outside the loop? Had he seen anything strange? Was he sure he hadn't been followed?
It was no shocker that the kids started getting a bit wild, but the younger ones had a whole different reaction - surprisingly rowdy while the older ones were more subdued, just as I predicted. However, the grumbling about the new rules was loud enough for everyone to hear.
You know, when I was under the watchful eyes of Miss Raven and Miss Crow, they made it a point to keep all of us kids inside the mansion at all times. But there was this one particular child, me, who had ended up on their watchlist of troublemakers. However, they weren't usually awake early enough to catch me in the act. But things took a turn when I stayed over at Jake's house. I hardly ever left there, not even once.
It's like déjà vu being back here, stuck in this house with the other kids. Nothing really changes, except for the occasional news update. You can always tell when Millard enters a room by the dramatic sighs that follow.
Hugh's bees buzzed around and stung folks until they were kicked out of the house, leading Hugh to gaze out the window, his bees guarding the other side of the pane.
Emma, who insisted that she had lost her heavy shoes, decided to crawl on the ceiling like a nimble fly. She mischievously dropped tiny grains of rice on unsuspecting heads, waiting for them to glance up and spot her. As soon as they did, she would burst into uncontrollable laughter, causing her levitation to waver. To prevent herself from tumbling down, she would quickly cling to a nearby chandelier or curtain rod.
Enoch was the oddest of them all, retreating to his underground lab to conduct bizarre surgeries on his clay warriors. He would remove limbs from two soldiers to create a monstrous spider-man out of a third, or stuff four chicken hearts into one chest cavity in hopes of crafting an unstoppable super-clay-man.
The strain took its toll on their small grey bodies, one by one until the basement resembled a field hospital from the Civil War. Meanwhile, Miss Peregrine tirelessly moved around, checking on the children in every room, chain-smoking her pipes. It seemed as though she feared they would vanish the instant they were out of her sight.
Miss Avocet lingered around, occasionally snapping out of her daze to roam the corridors, sadly searching for her neglected charges before collapsing into a caring embrace and being escorted back to her room.
There was a lot of wild speculation about Miss Avocet's unfortunate situation and why hollows would target ymbrynes, with ideas ranging from the outlandish (creating an enormous time loop to engulf the planet) to the overly hopeful (keeping the hollows company to combat loneliness).
Gradually, a sombre silence descended upon the house. After being cooped up for two days, everyone seemed to lack energy, or at least that's what I observed. Miss Peregrine believed that sticking to a routine was the best way to combat feelings of sadness, so she made sure to keep everyone engaged with daily lessons, meal preparations, and maintaining the cleanliness of the house. Good old routines, something I can barely escape by the looks of it.
However, in moments when we weren't given specific tasks, I noticed the children slumped heavily in their chairs, gazing blankly out of the windows, flipping through well-worn books, or dozing off.
I had never witnessed Horace's unique skill in action until that one evening when he suddenly started screaming. A group of us hurried upstairs to the attic where he had been standing guard, only to discover him frozen in a chair, experiencing what appeared to be a terrifying waking nightmare, frantically clawing at the air.
Initially, he was just screaming, but soon he started to ramble, shouting about the oceans boiling, ash falling from the sky, and a never-ending cloud of smoke covering the land. After a while of these doomsday predictions, he appeared to tire himself out and drifted into a restless slumber.
The rest of the group had witnessed this scenario play out many times in the past, with photos of his episodes stored in Miss Peregrine's album. Following the headmistress's orders, they lifted him to bed by his arms and legs.
When he awoke a few hours later, he insisted he couldn't recall the dream and believed forgotten dreams seldom materialized. The group didn't press further, as they had plenty of other concerns to occupy their minds. I had a feeling he wasn't revealing everything.
I was lost in thought up in my attic when I suddenly noticed the temperature plummeting. Peering outside, I saw small snowflakes drifting down from the overcast sky. As I tried to make sense of my emotions, I reluctantly acknowledged a tinge of fear creeping in, realizing I might be slipping into a state of depression. The abrupt weather shift was hard to miss, especially when I heard Miss Peregrine calling my name.
"Miss Wilde!" She called.
"Yeah?" I replied as I made my way towards the trapdoor, opened it, went down the ladder, closed it, and then proceeded down the stairs to meet up with Miss Peregrine.
"I comprehend that the weather fluctuates in accordance with your emotions, however, I am compelled to inquire about the significance of this phenomenon?" she gestured to the window where we could see snow lying on the floor.
"It means I'm bored," I lied.
"I understand, given the circumstances, this emotion is understandable-" Miss Peregrine heard a sudden knock at the door, she quickly turned and opened it to find a soggy, wet, shivering Jake standing there. But something tells me he looked a bit disturbed, and that something was wrong.
"What's happened?" Miss Peregrine said.
After Jake spilled all the shady details and rumours he had heard, Miss Peregrine went pale. She quickly guided Jake into the sitting room, where she frantically rounded up all the children she could find before storming off to locate those who had ignored her calls. The remaining kids were left standing there, feeling anxious and confused.
Miss Peregrine came back, dragging Enoch and Horace along by their shirtsleeves. All eyes turned towards them. "We've just had a word of a new threat," she announced. "A man outside our loop has died under suspicious circumstances. We can't be certain of the cause or whether it represents a true threat to our security, but we must conduct ourselves as if it did. Until further notice, no one may leave the house, not even to collect vegetables or bring in a goose for the evening meal."
A collective groan arose, over which Miss Peregrine raised her voice. "This has been a challenging few days for us all. I beg your continued patience."
Everyone in the room raised their hands, but she dismissed all inquiries and hurried off to lock the doors. Jake frantically followed her. I left the sitting room and made my way to my room in the attic. Emma soon joined me, followed by Olive, Bronwyn, Millard, and surprisingly, even Enoch. None of us exchanged words, but we all sat quietly in my room.
Now Bronwyn is gazing blankly out of the window. Enoch is seated on the ground, carving a piece of tough clay. Emma is perched on the ceiling, lost in contemplation. Meanwhile, Olive is sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees, ripping pages from a notebook and setting them ablaze with her fingers. Jake suddenly joins us in the attic "You're back!" Said Emma as Jake came in.