Strange Worlds [Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children] Enoch O'Connor

thirty-three

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
GOD, IT'S COLD

"Sophia!" Enoch's body fell next to mine, his arms wrapped around my cold body, and he held me close. He was warm but not warm enough. My body was slowly shutting down, and I had no idea how to stop it.

Soon I could hear the other peculiars voices floating around, then the loud and rushed calls for Emma to hurry up. They needed Emma. I needed Emma. I was so cold, so cold. The sobs of Fiona and Enoch filled my ears. I wanted to tell them that it was okay, that Emma would come soon, but there was no hope. I had no voice.

"Guys, what's wrong?" I heard Emma's voice, frantic.

"It's Sophia, and she's been frozen!" Clair called out, her tiny voice wavering.

"Oh, Sophia..." Emma's voice held sympathy and sadness, and I felt another body join at my side, "Enoch, let me take her," there was a pause, I didn't know what was going on, then I felt my body be moved while Emma said a small voice, "Thank you."

"It's going to be okay, and everything is alright now. Emma is here to help." I could hear Fiona's voice of reassurance, but I was not the wiser on whether it was pointed towards me or not, my vision was blurred, and my ears started to ring, and the cold overtook my body entirely, and I froze on the spot, my mind going dark and hazy. At least I didn't have to worry about my sprained ankle anymore.

Almost instantly, my body became increasingly cold, the pain doubling, and I felt myself thaw out, yet I still felt cold, and the cold was increasing again. A blood curtailing scream ripped through my body and out my mouth as the pain became unbearable.

"Stop! You're hurting her!" Enoch yelled out in a fury.

"It's okay, Sophia's; it's only going to hurt for a bit. You're okay!" Emma called over my screams, her voice filled with concern.

The one thing I had learned in survival camp through school was that if someone got hyperthermia, you were to never place them in direct line of a significant heat source, which was exactly what Emma was doing by using her peculiarity to warm me and melt the ice surrounding my body.

"Not long now, you'll be okay. Just a little while longer!" Emma called, wincing at the sounds of my screams. My vision slowly came back, and as it did, my heart started to beat at a regular rate. Tears streamed from my eyes as the screams coming from my mouth died down, and then I was left, lying on the ground, crying through what was left of my pain.

My body was quickly scooped up in someone's arms, and I knew exactly who had done so since no one else wears ghastly grey suits. My body still felt frozen, and my movements were stiff, though it felt warm and comforting to be held by him. My arms quickly moved from their spot in my lap and wrapped themselves around Enoch's shoulders. Both our heads resting on each other's necks as our tears stained each other's clothes.

"If you guys are done having a moment, Jacob needs us." Emma cleared her throat, though as we pulled away, I saw that she held a smile on her face. Everyone was smiling down at us. Hugh was holding Fiona in his arms, and the two sent a knowing look my way.

"Common guys, we've got to go. Barron is too strong for Jacob alone." Emma informed, and with the help of Enoch, I stood to my feet and followed after the blonde with the use of Enoch as we went to find my brother.

"Jake?" We called as we ran through the entrance and down the hall to where it was deathly silent. Seeing a large hole in one of the wooden doors, fear was the one emotion on my mind, and I wished for Jacob to be okay. The pain I was experience was almost nonexistent due to my countless thoughts.

Emma slowly opened the door, and we found two Jacobs staring right back at us. A laugh escaped my lips due to the immense confusion, and I had no other way to respond typically.

"Emma, Sophia!" The one to the right called, walking forward. The Jacob on the left following in confusion, "Wait, no, that's not me, I can explain. It's Barron."

"What? Don't listen to him! He's Barron." The one to the left spoke up.

"No, I'm not!" The right defended.

"Well, I've got a better shot than Jake." Enoch started as he found and picked up the crossbow on the ground, aiming it between them. "So neither of you move until we sort this."

"Woah, Woah, Woah! There is a straightforward way to fix this problem." I stopped the two, and they looked increasingly confused.

"Listen to me, Sophia. I am Jake, your brother. I grew up in Florida, and all our lives, we wanted to be explorers. I thought nothing would ever change because we were ordinary." Left Jake stated.

"That's Jake!" Emma pointed her finger to him.

"What? No, it's not. You can't say that. We told Barron all of this when he was our psychiatrist." I growled, glaring the left Jacob down. "If you were Jacob, then what did our best friend call us and what was his name."

Left Jacob scoffed while right Jacob sent me a small smile, "His name was Ricky, he was the definition of a rebellious teen, he called you Angel and me Special Ed, but you would always disregard him and say that he must be talking about me when he asked for Angel. But that doesn't matter because you and I share something no one else can." He said, motioning his head to the side. I followed his movements but quickly turned back to the Right Jacob.

"We can see the monsters." We coursed as the hollow behind the fake Jacob curled its long tong around his body and lifted him off the ground, Barron quickly changing back to himself. I watched in horror, and the monster stuck its tongs into Barron's eyes, and the man fell to the floor. I quickly grabbed the crossbow from Enoch as the hollow charged for us and shot it.

The arrow didn't hit the exact target, but it still did the job. The arrow lodged itself under the hollow's jaw, sending it right into the top of its head. The monster fell to the floor with a loud thunk that we all heard. Smiles filled our faces as we cheered. Jacob and I hugged each other then turned to the group who had bow joined us on the bottom level.

"We need to go, those of us who are leaving," Emma stated. Enoch sent her a nod and turned around, walking up back where we came. Jacob and I shared a look. We still hadn't made up our minds.

Silently, everyone headed back towards, the pier which had been closed off due to it now being a crime scene, though luckily, no one was around. One by one, everyone walked through the loop as we silently watched.