A Strange New World

Chapter 1-The Home

You sat up in your bed with a yawn, deciding it was finally time to get up. You got ready for the day before heading downstairs and sitting at the bar of the Priest Hole where you'd been staying. Kev, the manager, gave you your breakfast before going to talk with one of the other patrons.

"I swear she's gone missin after lookin around for that old house. I'm left thinkin it's haunted!" You overheard a conversation between Martin, a man who spent most of his time in the pub, and Kev.

"Pardon me, but someone's gone missing? And what old house? All these buildings do seem pretty old." Martin looked over at you an snickered.

"Ay, well that may be true. There's a creepy home up in the woods past the bog. I'm pretty damn sure it's haunted. It used to be a children's home. Most people here have stories about it from their grandparents. You could ask just about anyone and they'll have something to say. Like supposedly Jerome's grandma, Amber, had a fling with the headmistress of the place. And Sarah's grandpa used to visit daily to ask about the weird things they could each do." He waved his hand in the air as he spoke like this was all common knowledge.

"Hunted? So is it abandoned? And what sort of weird things could they do?" You were reasonably curious about this strange house in the woods.

"Abandoned and partially destroyed. A bomb dropped on the place during the war. Not one survivor. And they were all pretty young too. Even the headmistress was only in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, not quite sure. Each had some weird talent. Course, none of us were alive back then, and everyone's passed down stories differ from each other. Though there's a few things everyone agrees on. Like the headmistress, her name was Miss Peregrine who had blue hair, which was considered weird back then."

"Peregrine? Like the bird, peregrine falcon?" He just shrugged.

"The kids were all weird, different from society. According to the story my parents told me, there was one girl, Emma I think her name was, who could float, but couldn't really control it. An a small one, Clara was it? Who had a second mouth. But there were a lot of kids, and I don't really remember the entire story. You could go lookin for the home, there's probably pictures of historical clues or whatever you might be lookin for. But be careful, especially if you go upstairs, don't want the floor to give out under you." He sipped a beer as he spoke, giddy someone other than the usual local was talking to him.

You nodded quickly, grabbing your bag and taking out a map you kept on you in case you got lost in the place that was still relatively new to you. You spread it out on the table and gestured to it. "Where in the woods?" He thought for a moment before pointing at what appeared to be a clearing. "Thanks a ton Martin!"

You stood up and went back to your room having finished your meal while he spoke. You got on hiking boots, ones you didn't much care for as he'd mentioned a big which you doubted would be any fun. You got a bag, making sure to prepare for the worst, bring your map, bottles of water and some food.

Once you felt reasonably prepared you left the Priest Hole, walking along down a path that would only lead to a dead end. Upon reaching that dead end you checked your map before headed out into the bog, towards where the home was supposed to be. When you got closer you began to see part of the roof, sticking up over the trees. You began running, eager to finally arrive at the home.

You broke through the tree line and did what can only be described and stand and gawk. You ran to the door, walking in and looking around. Didn't seem haunted. The wallpaper was old and tearing, it was hard to even see the original pattern. The kitchen was in shambles, jars broken on the floor, food over a hundred years old rotting on the floor. The dinning room was no better, chairs with broken legs all across the floor, and a table with a large crack down the middle.

You made your way to what looked to be a living room. A couch sat covered in dust and debris, one cushion looked to have been cut open. You stepped on something that made a crunching noise and jumped back, you looked down, finding it was a broken picture frame. You bent down and picked it up. It showed a group photo, children with giant smiles, except for one boy. Near the back of the group was a tall woman who wore a small proud smile, and had the strangest blue hair styled in a neat bob. The headmistress. "Miss Peregrine..." You whispered to yourself.

Looking around the room you found more pictures, one was a silhouette of an already tall woman wearing heels. A pipe hung from her lips and her hands were folded in front of her. Based on the way her hair was styled you assumed the this was a photo of the headmistress.

You continued looking at photos you found, pocketing a few. One showed two boys playing soccer, another boy sat off to the side reading. In another we're five children, a little brunette girl held a small blonde girl in a pink dress on her shoulder, as though she weighed no more than a grape. In the background a girl who seemed a bit older supported a giant carrot that leaned against her. And near the bottom of the picture were two kids, that were probably twins, both wearing white masks that covered their faces. You found one last picture, in this one there were three kids, who seemed to be older than all the rest, in their late teens. Two girls sharing a one armed hug, one girl, a redhead wrapped her spare arm around a boys shoulder, who didn't seem so pleased about joining in on the picture.

You decided to slowly make your way upstairs, putting a little pressure on each stair, testing them before leaning your entire weight on each one. Surprisingly you only had to skip a few before finally reaching the top of the stairs. You went from room to room, avoiding spots on the floor that sounded too squeaky to be safe. The first few rooms looked to all be the children's rooms, each having at least two beds, meaning they had to share.

Eventually you reached a room that looked different then all the rest. There was only one bed and it was a queen, bigger than the twins from every other room. In the corner was a vanity that held a few pieces of jewelry and some old makeup, all of which was covered in a thick layer of dust. The mirror was shattered, shards littered the nearby ground.

There was a desk in another corner of the room. On it we're a few pieces of paper, a quill pen, and some unopened envelopes. You picked one up and checked who it was addressed to. Alma Peregrine from Esmeralda Avocet. This was Miss Peregrine's room. You walked over to a wall and opened a sliding door, it was a closet. You looked through it, finding a shit ton of matching blazers and shirts, skirts and leggings. Even a few corsets. You stopped looking through the closet when you accidentally stumbled upon some old bras.

You checked behind another door, finding it was a bathroom. You turned around having heard a loud caw coming from the room. A bird had perched itself on a windowsill, broken glass laid out where there was once an actual window. "Oh shit.." The bird let out what sounded to be an upset squawk. "A peregrine falcon! I didn't even know you guys nested here. You're normally not so friendly, are you going to peck me?" It seemed to shake its head but that was just plain crazy, it couldn't understand you. You dig around in your bag, pulling out a Polaroid camera and pointing it at the bird. "Wow, you're such a pretty bird. I've never seen one so blue before, it's beautiful." It seemed to puff out its chest, as though proud of itself as you took a picture of it.

When you tried to get closer it took off, flying in a couple circles around you before leaving out the broken window. You were speechless as you watched it fly away. What strange behavior for a bird. You looked down at the floor where two of its bright blue feathers had fallen. You picked them up and tucked them away in your bag with a smile.

It would be getting dark soon, you figured you should get going home before you had to find your way back with no light. Plus, you'd explored enough for one day anyway.

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Ah, another book about Alma, what else is new? The pictures at the top will either be of Eva Green in general (cause I used all my Miss P pictures up on my last book) or just memes-