Some Strange Type of Peculiar Love

Sam and Esme

Ok so I've always loved Sam and Esme and honestly I loved how Millard was like "they never made it" because it added like sad drama. Idk I'm fucked up lol but if y'all want me to write a follow up comment bc I have a good idea

Hugh's POV

Before I even knew it we were out of the catacombs we were running in the streets with Joel and Peter, a girl, and her pigeon as the bombs fell around us.
"Who is she?" I yelled, but everyone was too frantic to answer.
"Pick an empty house!" Bronwyn yelled at Horace.
"Why me?"
"Because you can see the future!"
"But I've never dreamed this!"
"Pick one!"
"Well they all look pretty empty!"
Bronwyn stamped her foot while Emma and Jake yelled obscenities.
"Fine! This one!"
"Why?"
"Because I like the color of the door!"
Bronwyn groaned but pulled the door off its hinges anyways. We ran into the house.
"Who's there?" A girl yelled, I couldn't see her but I think she was coming from down the hall.
"Who is it Sam?"
"Quiet Esme." She bit.
"Please! We're here for refuge from the bombs." Emma pleaded as the ground shook again.
"My dad will come out with guns!" But no dad had come out yet so I doubt one would now.
"I call bullshit!" Yelled Enoch.
"Sam he said a naughty word!"
"Esme!"
Emma walked down the hall.
"Well we're coming in weather you like it or not, and there's more us than you!" Emma charged down the hall and we followed. At the end was a girl no older than 12 with short blonde hair and a black dress with white buttons going down.
"Who is it Sam?"
I looked behind her to see a little girl in the tub, no more than 5.
"Just some kids."
"Hullo!" She waved.
"Why are you in the tub?" Horace asked.
"Because the bombs can't reach you in the tub, silly!" She said as if it was the stupidest thing anyone could ask.
"You all can come in!"
Bronwyn put her hand to her heart, "thanks love, but I'd never fit!"
The bombs kept falling closer and closer. Millard stood silently with the new kids and the birds. Esme started to wail and cry.
"Hey, I have a little man who would like to ride your duck." Enoch took his clay man, who was roughly the size of his thumb, and put it atop of her duck. She laughed and clapped as the clay man did a bow. Jake doubled over.
Enoch.
He made the man come alive, he used his powers, and now the hollow was here.
The hollow ripped into the house thrashing around.
"What is that!" Yelled Sam.
We didn't have time to answer before the bomb fell.
Boom!

I scurried out of the wreckage, and helped Joel and Peter get free; they never unlinked their arms for a second.
"Sam! Sam!" Cried Esme.
She was completely unharmed, the bathtub saved everything from falling in.
Emma and Bronwyn tried to comfort her as the rest of us looked for what we assumed would be a body. Melina was the girls name, she was a telekinetic and lifting debris effortlessly.
"Oh my bird!" Yelled Horace. Miss Peregrine chirped and the pigeon hid itself in Melinas short black curly hair. I turned to see what they were talking about a gawked.
It was Sam.
Only, it wasn't really Sam, was it?
"Hullo, can someone get me down?" She asked impatiently. She was completely impaled by a large wooden beam. She didn't even seem fazed, she must be in shock.
"Sam!" Esme smiled up at her like nothing was out of the ordinary. Bronwyn picked up the beam and Sam slid off it.
"I hope I don't get a sliver." She muttered to herself as Esme clung to her. In her stomach was a hole the size of our soccer ball back in Cairnholm.
"Oh my bird, you're peculiar!"
Sam looked at Esme and frowned.
"Well that's not very nice."
Emma shook her head, "it means you can a special erm... skill! Come with us, we can bring you to a loop and keep you safe."
"A woman came and talked to me about this before, but I have no interest."
"Why not? You could be hunted." Horace looked at her like she was stupid, the same way Esme looked at him when he asked about the tub.
"Or killed!" Olive cried.
"Can my sister come?"
"Is she special like you?" Millard stepped out with a hat, pants, and sweater vest, Sam didn't even bat an eye.
"Yes! I can count to one hundred in a duck voice! One...twoo...threeeee."
Enoch held up his hand to shush her.
"I take that as a no then?" Millard concluded. Sam nodded and Esme pouted.
"Well then no, she can't live in a loop."
"Well I'm not going if she can't." Sam crossed her arms over the gaping hole that seemed to be shrinking by the minute.
"Are you sure?" Asked Emma.
I heard sirens and saw an ambulance.
"Are you all—" The man couldn't even finish his sentence before he fainted at the sight of Sam.
"My knee hurts." Esme's eyes watered and Sam picked her up and brought her to the ambulance. She put a bandage on her knee and kissed it.
"All better." She sang.
"All better." Esme repeated.
"We should take the truck!" Enoch's idea was selfish, but he was right.
"But what about all those sick people!" Bronwyn protested.
Horace shook his head, "the past always mends itself, these people were meant to die."
"But—"
"You'd rather help these normals than Miss Peregrine?" Enoch spat. Bronwyn hung her head. Emma turned to the girl before we heard a hiding sound, it was the ambulance.
"Miss P! What are you doing!" Shouted Bronwyn. I turned to see Miss Peregrine giving the fatal pokes of the wheels completely deflating it.
"Well I guess no ones using it now." Melina grumbled. I heard giggling and turned to see Enoch gifting Esme his little clay man. She spun around and hugged him and finished up with a kiss on his cheek. He rolled his eyes but I could see him smile, he always had a soft spot for little kids, especially Claire. (Despite him picking on her from time to time) I'm honestly surprised he didn't stay with her. I wish he did, but a dead riser comes in handy. Emma turned to face Sam.
"Please, come with us."
"Are you kidding? Besides the fact I'd never leave Esme, you just destroyed a perfectly good medic van!"
"Yes but if you understood—"
"I don't want to!"
"But you're one of us." Emma sounded hurt.
"I'm aware, and I pray everyday that I wasn't! To bloody hell with all of you!" Sam shouted. Esme tugged on her tattered dress.
"Sam, you can't say bad words!"
Sam's face softened.
"You're right, I'm sorry," Sam's face turned hard when she looked at Emma.
"You guys should go." She put Esme on her hip and walked to the wreckage that used to be her home. The medic started to stir and Bronwyn helped him sit up. She handed him one of the waters from his supply and we took the rest. My underarms started to sweat and I realized I was wearing a wool sweater. Jake noticed my confusion when I pulled out a six inch piece of glass out of my sweater.
"The sweaters are from peculiar sheep, they must be bullet proof." I nodded and touched my face, I had tiny cuts all over but nothing too bad. The twins and Melina seemed to be perfectly fine despite not having the sweaters.
"How are you not injured?" I asked. Olive was holding my hand and nibbling on one of the blueberry muffins we got from the menagerie.
"The boys echo locate, but they can also create force fields to protect us from flying objects or bullets."
"But we're very tired." Joel and Peter said.
"I can carry one of you." Bronwyn offered and Jake jumped in too, "I can too." But the boys shook their heads.
"They don't separate." Melina explained.
"What will happen?" Horace asked.
"NO!" They shouted and hugged each other launching themselves into the ground and made a low vibrating sound. Melina scowled at Horace and started to soothe the boys.
"Shh shh, you're ok." The pigeon coo'd softly as Melina stroked both their hair. Eventually they got back up and seemed to have linked arms even tighter.
"Weirdos." Enoch muttered. Horace smacked him in the shoulder and frowned. Enoch put his hands in surrender. The pigeon started to coo.
"Winnie, what's wrong?" Suddenly the pigeon took off flying and we chased after it. Bronwyn scooped up Olive and I took Miss Peregrine, who was sitting on my head as we ran.

Why must we always run?

3/10/21