Arcane | Enoch O'Connor

Nine - "Dad, I'm fine honestly!"

"Mum. She will be fine, I promise, Grace is a strong girl... Don't even think that!... Pass me onto Dad... Hi... She'll be okay..." I was awake and have been for about an hour. I didn't know who else was in the room but someone was clutching my hand loosely. Acting as if I had just woken up, I yawned and sat up slowly. I looked around the small room - Dad was stood in the far corner on the phone for the third time this past hour and it was Enoch holding my hand. Once he realized I had woken, Enoch jumped up and wrapped his arms tightly so I just rested my head on his shoulders.

"Thank the birds, you're awake. Gracie, I don't know what I would've done without you." It was only as I pulled away that I saw how many cuts outlined his pale face and bruises covered his arms. The cotton of his clothes still had small dust particles and I then looked down to see my arms were the same. We both had wounds from inside the house. However, the last thing I remember from the house was Enoch pulling me to the ground, close to him in an attempt to save us from being killed.

"Maybe I shouldn't make promises I can't keep," I chuckled, attempting to sit up with aching legs. I felt so weak, falling back onto my bed. I only wanted Claire to be happy and not remembering the exact time of the bomb, I thought I had enough time. "or maybe I should try harder to not get myself killed. Thank you for saving us. I wouldn't know what I would do without you either."

His lips were soft against mine and he grabbed hold of my hand before breaking the kiss so Dad could talk. His forehead pressed on mine, his eyes look through the windows to my soul. I was in love with Enoch's eyes, the gorgeous hue of brown like sunlight shining through whiskey.

"I've been on the phone with your Grandpa Frank and my mom all morning. What were you thinking? Running back into the house for a stuffed toy?" I rolled my eyes, knowing it was rude but what happened is in the past and now is all that matters. "But anyway, I'm just glad you're okay." Dad gave me a quick hug before stepping back to beside the chair Enoch sat in.

"Are you going to tell her or am I?" Enoch whispered to Jake. Both men winced, exchanging discreet glances. It was bugging me that they wouldn't just tell me straight. Whilst the pair were arguing, I wondered if the rest of the children were okay. My thought was answered as I heard Fiona yell Bronwyn's name from downstairs and laughing right after. They sounded as if their house hadn't just been blown up by a Nazi bomber plane. "She's your daughter."

"She's your best friend." Dad sighed knowing that he would have to tell me the thing. His facial expression proved that the news was not pleasing but he got ready to tell me anyway. I glanced around the room as I waited for him. This didn't even look like my normal room in the Priest Hole. It was still the same layout, apart from the furniture which was vintage and dark oak instead of birch wood. The only thing that remained identical to the modern Priest Hole was the line of equally spaced photographs.

"Just tell me already."

"Good news or bad news first?" I picked good news because either way round, the bad news would still be bad. Enoch stared at me, the same look of worry printed on his face like yesterday. And it was yesterday. Today was September 4th, 1940. "The good news is that Miss Peregrine wasn't captured but she helped other children escape the hollows. As well as this, just like they did plenty of decades ago, the house is in pristine condition. The bad news is that the hollows are back and are already hunting down peculiars, meaning we won't be going home for a long time. "

I felt sick to the stomach. Dad killed all the hollows and wights twenty years ago and they've returned. We would have been safe if Miss Peregrine was here to reset the loop and not looking after other children. No disrespect to her, but Enoch and the rest of the children were far more important to her than other children considering they've been under her care for the best part of a century. She was also temporarily caring for the other loop since their ymbryne was kidnapped, or even worse, killed.

"How is this even possible? You, Emma, Millard, Enoch, Hugh, you all killed them years ago. They can't just rise from the dead!" I said, confused, still listening attentively. Dad explained that someone found the remains of the wight's experiments and started it up. They read all the notes, so they knew what to do and not what to do. The experiment ran smoothly and very effectively, meaning that there's a new generation of wights and hollows but this time, they're going to extract peculiar souls the moment they get their hands on them.

"So to sum that up, we're doomed unless we can get Jake to kill the hollows since he's the only one who can see them here, unless Grace can..." Enoch trailed off, squeezing my hand. I nodded, my vision blurry from when we were chased by a hollowgast on the day of my mother's death. Fortunately, that hollow was one of the last. The monster haunted my dreams for many, many months yet I think I formed a different picture in my imagination from the bedtime stories so I'm unsure of what they exactly look like. "Your turn to save me, Gracie."

"Uh, Dad, I don't feel too good..."

"Neither do I, Gracie." That only means one thing; the monsters are already here and there's no escaping them.