Hope (Enoch O'Connor x Reader)

Chapter 42: Monsters

I run with Emma, through the many familiar twisting passageways of Blackpool tower, until we see Barron standing in an alleyway, effortlessly dodging the onslaught of arrows that Jake fires haphazardly from Miss Peregrine's crossbow. Could he have any worse aim?

"Jake, when are you going to realise that you're a terrible shot at with that thing?" Mr Barron takes the words right out of my mouth. He reaches for the knob of a blue door, the obstacle between the ymbrynes and us.

"I'll hold him off as long as I can!" Emma yells and blows a tunnel of air out her mouth, blasting Barron against the wall at the end of the alleyway.

"Go!" I yell at Jake and he rushes to the blue door, throws it opened and locks in behind him while I shape shift into Emma.

"When you run out of air, I'll take a turn at blowing on him using your peculiarity, okay?" I shout at her over the wind at Emma, cringing at how wrong it sounds. She only nods, still blowing, keeping Barron's limbs pinned against the wall.

Suddenly I'm hauled backward. One of the other wights has found their way through the other peculiars to get here. He has me by the collar of Emma's dress, as I am still shape shifted as her. He starts to repeatedly punch me, his peculiarity clearly super-strength. I try to twist from his grip, but to no prevail. His fists pound and pound against my face, my head, and I feel myself starting to black out. I finally am able to rip the collar of the dress and am released from him. He lunges at me and I try to blow him away using Emma's peculiarity. But I am so exhausted; it feels as though I can barely breathe. It definitely didn't help that the wight had been punching me. Only a wisp of air leaves my lips and the wight grins, showing off its ridiculously sharp teeth.

"Trust me, little girl, you cannot beat a wight as powerful as Mr Archer!" He points to himself. I use his little lecture to spare a look at how Emma is going. And she isn't going well. She sits, completely out of breath, at the bottom of the stairs, panting her head off while Mr Barron morphs his hands into blades and begins to smash open the door Jake locked that houses the ymbrynes.

"Emma!" I yell at her, my voice cracking from fatigue. "Get help!"

The wight, Mr Archer, begins to punch me again. I can't do anything, my limbs are too sore and heavy to move, so I watch helplessly as Emma runs as fast as she can up the stairs to go get the children to help us. We are so screwed...

The wight keeps on hammering me with his fists, until suddenly when I thought I'd had it, he pulls a blade out of his pocket.

Just end me now. I think to myself. I can't do this anymore. Please make it quick.

As Mr Archer descends the knife upon me, I see Emma and Enoch run down the stairs.

No. I can't die. I have a family to protect. I have a world to save...

With renewed energy, I bring my knee up hard and smash them against Mr Archer's balls. He falls to the ground, stunned at my action. His head hits the concrete ground hard and I hear a resounding crack.

Did I just knee someone in the balls and accidentally crack his skull?

No time to dawn on that now as I run up to Emma and Enoch, shape shifting back into myself.

"Enoch! Thank the Bird you're okay!" I exclaim.

"I'm fine, but it doesn't sound like Jake is." He replies.

"Barron's too strong, we have to help him." Emma cries and we all cautiously approach the blue door. It is suspiciously silent.

Where did Jake and Barron go?

"Jake?" Emma calls.

No response. Are they even in there?

"Jake?" Enoch warily pushed opens the mangled blue door with a huge, gaping hole in the middle of it.

Two people stand in front of a huge empty bird cage with wires and cables coming out of it. I look at the face of the person on the left. It's Jake. I look at face of the person on the right and... it's also Jake.

"Emma, wait, that's not me, it's Barron!" Says the Jake on the left, walking forward towards us.

"Don't listen to him, he is Barron!" The Jake on the right argues, walking forward just as the left one did.

"I'm starting to think I'm Jake." I say, sarcastically. "Should I shape shift and make three Jakes, or can the real Jake step forward coz I'm sick of mind games!"

"Look, I'm Jake, that's Barron." The Jake on the left exclaims. Enoch spots Miss Peregrine's discarded crossbow and points it protectively at both the Jakes.

"Well, I'm a much better shot than Jake. So neither of you move until we sort this." Enoch warns.

"Listen to me. I'm Jake." The Jake on the right says. "I grew up in Florida and I wanted to be an explorer. I never thought nothing would ever change because I was ordinary."

"That's Jake. Get Barron." Emma exclaims, pointing at the other Jake.

"Wait! I told him all of this. She was my psychiatrist!" The Jake on the left argues.

"Look. You deal with him. I'll go find Miss Peregrine." The Jake on the right says, then takes a step forward. Enoch points the crossbow at him, warning him to stay back.

"Wait. I can prove that I'm me." The Jake on the left says. "Because I am not ordinary. I can do something that no one else can. I can see the monsters."

The Jake on the right is suddenly hoisted into the air. One word reaches my head. Hollow. 'Jake' starts screaming as the hollow's tongues feel around his face for his eyes, and then he suddenly morphs into Mr Barron.

"Wait, it's me!" Mr Barron yells. But it's too late.

I shape shift into Jake so I can see the hollow. I watch it rip out Barron's ugly white eyes. His lifeless body falls inanimately to the floor like a sack of potatoes, his eyes removed. The hollow then turns to us with a snarl.

"Enoch!" Jake yells and holds out his arms. Enoch chucks him the crossbow. Jake loads an arrow and shoots. It soars through the air... right over the hollow's shoulder.

Jake missed. I don't know why he would've hit it. He has the shittiest aim out of all of us.

The hollow lunges towards Enoch who is closest to it, tongues flying. Jake clumsily loads another arrow into Miss Peregrine's crossbow. Too slow.

I can't watch. I can't watch this all over again. The hollows killing off all of the people I love. I watched when the children in this loop, my old loop, were slaughtered. It has scarred me for life and I can't just watch it happen again. I remember when Enoch threw himself at the hollow back in the Cairnholm loop, nearly killing himself for the love he had for the other children. The love he never showed, but was revealed in that one terrifying moment when the hollow had him twisted in its tongues. I suddenly know exactly what I need to do. I couldn't save the children in my last loop, but I can save these kids.

With every ounce of strength in my exhausted, broken body, I leap out, hands outstretched. As I push Enoch away from the beast that should only dwell in nightmares, I can only think of one thing.

Do it so they can have hope.

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~Tamika