Muddy Waters / enoch o'connor {Slow Updates}

act one I part two

I was drowning in a sea of indecipherable chaos, spurred on by madness I tried in vain to collect my thoughts. Flashes and images of my nightmares returned to me in a jumbled mix of blood and screaming. Suffocating, I felt like my lungs were giving out on me as I moved through my nightmare. 

It was a wasteland, fragments of what was once Miss Avery's mansion laid scattered across the loop. I saw my friends, bloodied and near death  - but not yet there. Constantine was moving his lips and staring at me with his cold, always harsh eyes. 

"Louisa," he growled, gripping my arm, "you can't forget about us." 

His voice had turned soft, muttering a soft plea. I nodded - I couldn't even if I tried. Not that I wanted too. He was bleeding, red crimson pouring onto the green grass and staining the mud a deep burgundy. 

It was a soft, gentle hand that pulled me from my nightmare back into reality. I woke up to the sunlight streaming through the parlor windows, blinding me momentarily. 

Miss Peregrine stood above me before kneeling down. 

"He's stable," She said finally. 

I felt a rush of relief fill me. Abel was stable and had survived the night. Suddenly, I felt much more optimistic of our current situation. I wasn't scared anymore - so long as I had Abel I would be perfectly fine. His presence, though missing in action, was still lingering enough to give me a sense of relief and content.

"Will you be joining us for breakfast? I've been batting the children away all morning. They do wish to meet you." 

My stomach was empty, emitting a low grumble right as she finished her sentence. Miss Peregrine smiled and offered a hand down to me, which I took. I'd fallen asleep on a sofa in the parlor, waiting for an update on Abel. 

"I will warn you," she said, "it's been a while since we've had a visitor. They may be excited, it could be a little overwhelming at first."

I couldn't imagine how anyone would be excited, but then I remembered Miss Avery. She never told us about the unpleasant things that happened. She kept them secret, locked away so tightly that not even a professional eavasdropper like Constantine could decipher them. Miss Peregrine, I realized, was like that too. 

She would shield her wards from what happened and why Abel was in such bad condition. It was her job to protect them, and that meant shielding them from the truth of the situation.

"I do have one rule before we go in," Miss Peregrine stopped me at the doorway.
"You don't want me to say anything about the raid," I said softly, "I understand." 

She nodded and opened the door. 

The children were all sitting in places around the table. The conversation stopped, unspoken words hanging in the air as their heads turned to us. I looked to Miss Peregrine for guidance, but she only smiled and began towards the table. I followed behind her, feeling uncomfortable and awkward as eyes watched my every move. 

"Over here," A girl, strapped to her chair, said, "you can sit with me." 

I felt much better when she smiled and pulled the chair out. I sat down next to her and looked for comfort. 

"Now children, polite persons do not stare," Miss Peregrine chided. 

One by one, the eyes left me and I was able to pretend, if only for a second, that I belonged there. 

"What happened to your loop?" The boy at the other end of the table asked. 

I was surprised by his blunt question, ignoring the fact that the topic had seemingly been regarded as off limits. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I felt unshed tears begin to form in my eyes, and suddenly I wasn't so hungry anymore.