A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 58

". . but making that man look stupid felt good, didn't it?" {Horace Somnusson, pg 158 book 2}

Nine horses were rounded up and nine Gypsy riders – one for each of us. Bekhir said that horses would get us to town faster than a caravan of wagons would. Aurora approached a horse with different patches of tan and white coloring its coat, she held out her hand flat, palm up while the horse sniffed her. Then it nuzzled against her hand and she took that as a sign to pet it, carefully avoiding the eyes she gently stroked up and down it's long face. She hadn't been near a horse since she was a little girl long before the war had started. She looked over and saw Millard by a chestnut brown horse with a white stripe going from between its eyes down to its nose. The gypsy riding it made sure the horse was calm enough for Millard to get on, not wanting the horse to startle at the invisible boy. He hopped up easily, like he'd been riding everyday of his life. Aurora realized she was staring and quickly brought her attention back to the horse in front of her.

When they were all mounted one gypsy yelled, "Giddyap!" and they were off at full gallop. Bekhir led the pack with Radi riding behind him in the saddle; his back was straight and arms at his sides, confident and unafraid – much unlike Jacob who was already bear-hugging the gypsy controlling his horse. But Radi, he was so different from last night, he was in his element, among his people.

Eventually they slowed to a trot when they had left the forests and entered wide open fields. They were about to descend into a valley where a town sat in the middle no bigger than a postage stamp. Aurora could see puffs of white further in the distance making a dotted line headed for the town – a train. They continued until they were almost at the gates of the town, then Bekhir stopped.

"This is as far as we go. We're not much welcome in towns. You don't want the sort of attention we'd draw." He explained and they all dismounted. Just as they were about to go into town Radi jumped off his father's horse and cried,

"Wait! Take me with you!"

"I thought you were going to talk to him." Emma said turning to Millard.

"I did." He replied as Radi pulled a knapsack from the saddlebag, packed and ready to go.

"I can cook and chop wood and ride a horse and tie all sorts of knots!"

"Someone give him a merit badge." Enoch muttered earning an elbow to the gut from Olive who was looking at Radi with big sad eyes.

"I'm afraid it's impossible." Emma said to him gently.

"But I'm like you – and becoming more so all the time! Look what's happening to me!" he shouted unbuckling and dropping his trousers.

"Keep your pants on you depraved lunatic!" Enoch shouted covering Olive's eyes, but there was nothing to see. Now it wasn't only his feet, he was invisible from the waist down.

"Look how much I've disappeared since yesterday." Radi said, his voice shaking with panic, "Soon I'll be gone altogether!"

"If circumstances were different, we'd welcome you with open arms." Emma said trying to let him down gently. Radi still looked heartbroken, his knapsack falling from his shoulder and into the dirt. "But as it stands, our entire civilization and way of life are in danger of being snuffed out. So it's rather bad timing you see."

"It isn't fair. Why couldn't I have started disappearing ages ago? Why did it have to happen now?"

"Every peculiars ability manifests in it's own time. Some in infancy, others not until they're quite old. I once heard of a man who didn't realize he could levitate objects with his mind until he was ninety-two years of age." Millard explained visible to the others thanks to the coat and boots he now wore in addition to the fresh shirt and trousers he had on last night. He approached Radi and placed a hand on his shoulder.