August thinks her life is settling down in Cairnholm went she meets Jake, a boy not much older than her, who came looking for the old children's home. She knows nothing about a home, but agrees to meet with him later. But she soon realizes that, bas...
We decided that-- despite that close-call-- we would continue with our plan. Our main goal was to get as many peculiars out of captivity as possible, as well as killing as many wights as possible. The people killing would mainly be Emma, Miss Peregrine, and me, since we had more offensive abilities than defensive. We would probably rely on Jake to kill the hollows, though, since Miss Peregrine had no effect on them and I had no desire to get close to the foul creatures. True, I would help kill them if needed, but I dearly hoped I wouldn't have to.
Enoch left to try to find some dead things he could creepily animate, Hugh and Fiona left together, to talk (as did Jake and Emma), and I left to the solstice of my private quarters to think.
As I walked in, though, nudging the door shut with my foot, I felt a weird presence.
"Millard?" I asked the room. It looked empty, but Millard was invisible. I felt a bit silly talking to an empty-looking space, but I figured if Millard was there he would respond, and if he wasn't, there would be no one here to witness me talking to no one.
"I was just wondering if you could tell me what you needed so much privacy for earlier." A disembodied voice said. I jumped.
"Millard!" I exclaimed. "Will you ever wear anything? Put some clothes on! You always walk around nude, and it's a bit unnerving."
"It's not like you can see me," Millard argued. "And I will wear something... eventually. But right now, I want to know! It seemed very important. You know my intellect might be of use."
"Just because you know a lot about maps doesn't give you the right to nose around in other peoples' business!" I told him, thoroughly irritated.
"Fine," Millard said. "And the next time I intend to sneak somewhere, I shall wear clothes."
He huffed out of the room, the door swinging open and shut seemingly by itself. Honestly, I sort of knew why he wanted to know everything. Being left out is no fun, especially when you're used to knowing everything. Still, I was a bit annoyed with him. And it truly bothered me that someone could be watching me at any time. It was pure luck that I had found him this time.
I no longer felt like thinking, like if I went too deep in thought, my thoughts would be broadcasted over the entire Devil's Acre. So I picked up a pencil, watching as it vibrated and disappeared. If Bentham was right, could I be able to stop making things disappear as if they never existed? Could I somehow get my hands to go back before?
I tapped my finger to the palm of my opposite hand. Nothing happened. I clasped my hands together quickly, but nothing happened. I picked up a fallen piece of lead that had broken off the tip of a pencil, but it disappeared. I quickly tapped my nose, just to make sure I couldn't kill myself, sighing in relief when I realized I couldn't. I should have tried that long ago, but I had been too scared. I was feeling braver today, which was a good thing considering what we were about to do.
I looked around one more time, got up, and headed out the door.
. . .
"This is Joseph," Bentham told us when I stepped back into the large room in which we had gathered.
A dark-haired boy with a large hat and torn clothing was sitting on the ledge against the boarded-up window.
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"Howdy." He said, nodding at me.
"Hi," I said. "I didn't expect you to be so..."
"Young?" Joseph guessed. "I may look like I'm nine, but I'm over 150! I'm plenty strong too, don't you worry!" He lept off the windowsill and zoomed around the room without his feet ever touching the ground, holding onto his hat to keep it from falling off. "Used to be stronger, before I got on ambro. I was saved by Mr. Bentham right before my face woulda started to melt, too."
"Impressive," I told him. "But will you be able to carry two of us at a time?"
"Sure I could! I'd show ya, 'cept this ceiling's too low." He seemed very sure of himself, and given that he had just zoomed around that fast without holding anyone, I had confidence that he could carry a couple of people with ease, even if he had to go at a snail's pace.
"I wish I could fly like that," Olive said from the corner of the room, crossing her small arms. "Then you'd let me come!"
"Oh, Olive. We wouldn't have let you come anyway," Bronwyn said to the little girl. "And your peculiarity is just as good as his."
Joseph frowned, clearly disagreeing, but kept his mouth shut.
"It's nearly midday." Miss Peregrine reminded us from across the room.
"Yes yes," Bentham said to us. "She's right. Nearly time to leave. Now, Jake and August will be carried across first. Kill the four guards there as quickly as possible. There will be a small door going down into the building. I'm sure August will be able to get rid of the lock, or even the whole door. But wait until everyone is over on the roof. Joseph will wait on the roof for you if you can't get back out anywhere else. Remember- the whole point of this is to free as many peculiars as you can. And please, kill as many wights as you can, too. Especially my brother. Find him. Then kill him."
