Souls// Enoch O'Connor {1}•••

Chapter Five-- Victor

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It was my turn to help clean up after breakfast a long with Bronwyn, Fiona and Hugh, and afterwards I was surprised to walk into the sitting room and find Jacob and Enoch talking.

"Hey boys." I said, laying my head on Enoch's shoulder.
"Whatcha talkin' about?" Enoch glanced at me, then back at Jacob. "He was just asking a few things about the house, nothing interesting."

"I wanted to know what was in the room at the end of the hall," Jacob explained, looking frustrated. "But he won't tell me. Neither will Emma, what's so bad about it?"

I shivered, thinking about the occupant of the room. "You don't want to go in there, there's nothing worth your time."

I don't want him to know about Victor. If he knew what killed him, he would have another reason not to stay here with us.

"Then what's stopping me?" He said, and he ran towards the stairs. I followed him, and when I reached the top, I saw him head towards Victor's room. I got to it just after he turned the door handle, and he gasped at what he saw.

Victor's body was lying peacefully on the bed behind the curtains, as it has been for the past few decades. I didn't like thinking about him, he was one of my good friends and I was already tearing up.

Jacob looked at me, as if to ask for an explanation. I sighed. "You better sit down." I said quietly, just as Enoch walked in.

Enoch's POV

I came into Victor's room about a minute after Aspen and Jacob. Aspen was sitting next to Jacob on the couch, tears welling in her eyes. I knew that she didn't handle talking about Victor very well, as she blamed herself for what happened.

I walked over to her and sat beside her, instinctively putting an arm around her. "Miss Peregrine doesn't allow us to talk about him, but you deserve to know." She told Jacob.

"His name is Victor, and he was Bronwyn's older brother. He lived here in the loop, but he didn't really like it here. One night, I had a vision. In Carinholm, there was hollowgast stalking around, no doubt hungry. He was in the bog, just a little ways from the cave, the entrance of the loop. I told Miss Peregrine immediately, but she did not tell the children. This was back when your grandfather Abe was still here, and he could sense the hollow too. That same day, Victor, myself, and the others were playing outside when he snapped. He was tired of staying in the loop, and he wanted to go back home. So he ran into the forest toward the cave." Aspen said.

She took a deep breath and continued. "I, knowing what he was going to do and what was waiting outside the loop, followed him. I called for him, but he didn't listen. Once outside the loop, he stopped, and he asked me to join him. I told him no, and I noticed the hollow sneaking through the trees, getting ready to strike. It was still a bit far away, so I warned Victor, but he, as a normal peculiar, couldn't see it, so he didn't believe me."

" I backed away right as the hollow jumped forward, and I watched as it plucked him off the ground and snatched his eyes from their sockets, dropping his body to the ground." Aspen said, her voice shaking. I wanted to comfort her so badly, but she wasn't finished.

"I ran back inside the loop, where it couldn't find me. Miss Peregrine came about a minute later, but Victor was already dead." She took a deep breath, trying not to break down. "She brought his body back, and he's been in here ever since. And it's absolutely horrible, because I could've prevented it."

Aspen's POV

I finished off the story, and Jacob stared at Victor for a moment before hugging me quickly. "I'm really sorry I asked." He whispered. "No, you deserved to know." I told him, and after a moment, he left the room. It was just me and Enoch now, and he hugged me, my head on his shoulder.

I closed my eyes for a minute, but opened them when I felt another presence in the room. I looked up to see a faint blue silhouette across the room. I untangled myself from Enoch's embrace and walked over to the figure.

"Victor?" The figure nodded and reached out to me, brushing my cheek. "I'm sorry I let this happen to you..."
I whispered.

"Its alright." A faint, almost inaudible voice said. "You couldn't do anything. I forgave you a long time ago, Aspen." I smiled.

"Tell Bronwyn I said hello." Victor's ghost said, and he walked over to his body and laid next to it, fading away. "I will." I whispered, and Enoch came up and put his arms around my waist as the last of the ghost disappeared, leaving us alone in the room.

Enoch led me out the door, and locked it behind him. Once in the hallway, he looked at me confused.

"Victor forgave me."

He smiled.