My Dear Birdie

Chapter five: a mundane yet eventful day

A/n: I keep forgetting to post im so sorry

I wake up with Jake saying my name I turn over with a tired groan,
"What, what do you want?"
Jake rolls his eyes and tells me that he's going with Emma to her hide away and that not to worry if he takes a while. Still half asleep I just nod and that's when we hear a knock on our door and Enoch pops his head into our room,
"Miss Peregrine says breakfast is ready."
We nod and get dressed quickly and walk downstairs Bronwyn walks past me and bids me good morning, Alma is standing by the door and smiles seeing me,
"Good morning Jake, good morning miss Portman."
Jake politely says good morning while looking confused at me as I laugh and say good morning. We all sit down and I'm sat next to Olive who as she entered the room clearly not a morning person she walked straight into a wall Enoch snickers and says,
"Olive that's a wall."
Olive glares at him and sarcastically says,
"No shit really?!"
Alma whips her head around and harshly says her name she sits down glaring at Enoch still we all get on with eating and Jake and Emma disappear and the rest of the others all do chores I go find Alma to ask if she needs help.

"No not really there isn't much for you to do if I'm honest darling."

I feel my stomach flip when she calls me darling I notice her smile slightly and I begin to chop vegetables playfully rolling my eyes as Alma begins to tell me to just relax and not to help,
"Absolutely not, Alma you need the help you have to look after a lot of kids it's the least I could do!"
I see Alma smile and I can't help but smile back something about this woman is so sweet and it just fills me with warmth.
Jake walks in he looks at me and excitedly says,

"Y/n I've worked it out! I've worked out my peculiarity!"
I smile widely and ask what it is as he begins to explain I feel Alma's eyes on me. Jake says he can see Hollows I look between Alma and Jake and say,
"Hollow? what's a hollow?"
Alma takes me through to her study and places a book in front of me that has the title of,
Tᕼᗴ ᕼIՏTOᖇY Oᖴ Tᕼᗴ ᑭᗴᖇᑕᑌᒪᗩIᖇ ᗯOᖇᒪᗪ
I flip through reading learning about the horrors that this man called Barron and his followers did I take a breath when I see the photo he's stood in the middle like he's a god-like he has a divine right to do what he did when in reality he is the spawn of Satan.
"So it was a hollow that killed grandpa?"
Alma nods I then ask about what happens when hollows eat peculiars
"If enough is consumed they can return to a human form but their eyes will be all white they are called wights."

I stare at Alma she stares back at me I see sadness weighing heavy in her eyes just like it did when she spoke of her past she takes the book away and puts it back on her shelf Emma and Jake leave the room shutting the door behind themselves Alma sits down next to me her head in her hands I wrap an arm around her she leans into me quietly crying I rub her back soothingly after a few minutes she sits up staring into nothing she asks how grandpa died I sighed heavily as I knew the anxiety I would feel I told her I don't want to talk about it she argued back how she had a right to know, I sighed but began to tell her.

I finished the recount of the night and I look at her throughout the whole thing I expected to feel anxious and panicky but I didn't not one bit Alma thanked me and gently kisses my cheek,
"Thank you for telling me."
I give a weak smile as we hear a knock on the door Alma answers it and I hear Olive's voice but I don't pay attention Alma says she has to prepare dinner I offer help and she shakes her head,
"I can show you around a little bit more if you want y/n?"
Olive asks innocently I smile and nod so Olive and me walk around she tells me all about the dynamics of this place and how she was found by Alma. My heart hurts for her as she explains but eventually we come to a hallway with a few rooms in it she looks at a door at the very end of the hallway.
"Come on, come meet Victor."
She says rather nervous for a reason she opens the door as I open my mouth to greet Victor and I see a sleeping boy I whisper to Olive,
"He's asleep I'll meet him later."
"No, he's dead, killed by a hollow."
Says a boy behind us in the most nonchalant voice ever I whip around and ask,
"Dead? What do you mean dead!"
"I mean he is dead, no longer with us, in heaven and so on."
"Yes but surely there wouldn't be a body if he was killed by a hollow?"
The boy rolls his eyes
"Hollows only eat the eyes of peculiar children, not the body."
I stare at him confused by his calmness to a dead body in the room from across from him truthfully speaking I was scared and I think Olive noticed,
"There's no need to be scared Miss Peregrine kills the hollow every day."
"Every day?"
I ask Olive nods and the boy says,
"Yes when the loop was created the very first day, a hollow broke into the house and killed Victor. Miss Peregrine couldn't get to her crossbow in time truthfully speaking I just feel bad for Bronwyn, I mean to her it was like he hung the moon and stars!"
I look behind me and see that Victor doesn't have any eyes.
Just like grandpa didn't.

Fuck.
"I need to go find Jake if you two could excuse me."
A hollow comes here each day I need to get Jake out of here I round the corner and I spot Fiona trying to contain my panic I as calmly as I could pretend ask,
"Fiona dear have you seen my brother?"
She nods and gestures to the outside I smile and thank her find Jake he's walking back with Emma and I rush towards him and grab his arm dragging him away he hits my shoulder and exclaims as I drag him around a corner,
"We're going home these kids are crazy!"
"What no we are not they ain't!"
"Yes they are Jake please let's go home!"
I say my voice breaks and tears fill my eyes
"Our stuff though?"
I sniffle,
"The clothes here can be replaced with our actual stuff in our normal time Jake please it's not safe here we're going!"
Jake takes notice of my fear and nods as I still grip him tightly and we walk out of the loop and back to the priest hole.