SPARK // Enoch O'Connor

chapter 2: Whelve

Whelve

(v) to bury something deep; to hide
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"I will be back shortly, Emma. It is your job to watch over the children."

"But Miss Peregrine,"

"No. No questions. I sense chaos within Miss Parrot's loop. I fear something terrible has happened. I will return in time for the reset."

The blonde girl nodded curtly, and watched as her headmistress swiftly transformed into her bird form, and flew out of the agape window.
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I woke to the sound of peaceful waves washing over my bare skin and through my dirtied dress. A soft breeze muttered into my cold ears and twisted through my heavy hair. My eyes fluttered open to the sound of seagulls circling above the palm trees. I lay on my back, in soft, golden sand as if placed there by an angel. The sky above me radiated beautiful pinks and purples, with a soft orange seeping into the vast horizon. I sat up and brushed a few specks of sand that made their way onto my freckled cheeks. I parted my pale lips and furrowed my eyebrows at the scene in front of me. Small houses cascaded into the quiet ocean. Trees broken in half filtered the water. Debris clung to the surface in large bundles, along with floating objects that seemed all too familiar. A decorated chair that belonged in Miss Parrot's room floated by, along with a disheveled baby's crib that was half missing. An object now belonging to the great sea itself. A foul feeling dropped into the pit of my stomach as I remembered the events of the previous. . . day? hour? few minutes?

A look of confusion and anguish creeped across my face and a single tear fluttered down one of my red cheeks. Anger filled my soul. Desperation filed into my brain and began encircling it like predator and prey. My throat began to sting and contents of the very ocean came spewing from my mouth.

I whimpered, hugging my knees to my chest. A single shot of pain radiated through my abdomen as I did this, and I quickly dropped my legs back onto the ground. With pained eyes, I looked to my stomach. My white dress was decorated with a single hole, covered in deep amber, that stretched from my left to right side. With a shaky hand, I pulled back a few corners of fabric that danced around my open wound. My abdomen began to burn and I let out a shaky breath. The facade my brain put on my body of not having any injuries faded away. I was now well aware of the pool of blood that darkened the sand below my body.

I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the immense pain that shot through my body in pulses like a doctor performing CPR. My head shot up from my abdomen to the water in front of me as a newfound thought crept into my mind. My heart raced and my eyes dashed across the surrounding area. Every corner of the horizon, every drop of water, my eyes panned across. Trepidation hit me so hard I would have doubled-over if I had been standing.

"Children!" I croaked. My voice was hoarse and grainy, unable to speak anything over a whisper.

"Angelina," I croaked once more. "Angelina..." my eyes began to sting and a powerful shock wave vibrated through my body. I began to hyperventilate.

"Ch-Charles. Finnick!" I pleaded. Incredible pressure pounded my stomach and ripped at my injury with every breath I took. I began to push myself up off of the ground, attempting to stand up and search for my beloved friends. My family. I screamed in agony at my ambitiousness, collapsing back onto the coarse surface beneath me. I gasped for air, but my lips only parted slightly. My head began to fuzz, my ears ringing softly. I was dazed and afraid that my body was implying that it was my time to pass on. To give up.