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

Chapter 66

"The bones began to shift. A skull dislodged from the pile and clattered to the floor, where it rolled to a stop at my feet and stared up at me 'Hello future' I thought." {Jacob Portman pg 242 book 2}

"You mean there are people buried in the floor?" Bronwyn asked shaking.

"What of it?" Enoch scoffed, "Let's catch a damn pigeon before one of those bombs buries us in the floor!"

"They've got to be down here somewhere." Emma said hopefully, "There's no way out but that staircase."

Then they heard the flapping of wings and Olive aimed her flame toward the sound, it illuminated a flat topped tomb that rose a few feet from the floor but no pigeons.

"Nothing!" Emma said kicking the floor in frustration, "I don't understand, they were right here!"

"Olive!" Millard shouted, "Shine your light on top of the tomb if you please." As she did Millard read the inscription:

Here Lieth SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN Builder of this Cathedral

"Wren!" Aurora cried with a smile.

"What an odd coincidence." Olive whispered.

"I hardly think it's a coincidence." Millard continued, "He must be related to Miss Wren. Perhaps he's her father!"

"Interesting." Enoch said blandly, "but how does that help us find her or her pigeons?"

"That is what I am attempting to puzzle out." Millard hummed to himself and recited a line from the tale. "the birds still went to visit him, now and again, in the land below."

"Shhh!" Jake hushed and they heard a small coo. He knelt down and that's when Aurora noticed he was beside a small hole in the floor at the tomb's base, just large enough for a bird to wriggle through.

"Over here!" he called to the others.

"Perhaps that's the land below?" Emma asked, "But how are we supposed to get the birds out of there?"

"We could wait for them to leave." Horace said as a bomb fell so close by that Aurora felt her teeth rattle.

"No need for that!" Millard said, "Bronwyn would you please open Sir Wren's tomb?"

"No! I don't want to see his rotten old bones!"

"It's okay Wyn." Aurora comforted her, "Millard knows what he's doing." After finding no trace of dishonesty in her face Bronwyn planted her hands on the edge of the tomb lid and began to push. It slid open with a slow grating rumble.

"Well, I'll be." Enoch said in shock as they saw what the tomb was hiding. Where a coffin should have been there was a ladder leading down into darkness. Horace began to protest but then three bombs shook the building and chips of concrete fell on their heads causing them all to start pushing to go first.

"Best dressed go first!" Horace said as he shoved.

"I have the light so I'll go first!" Olive protested.

Aurora was hesitant to go in but then reminded herself that she'd scaled a tree branch from the roof of their home, she'd jumped into Cuthbert's mouth and a million other things she'd been afraid to do but in the end they'd kept her alive. So she took a deep breath and descended the ladder. It took her down into a tunnel which dead-ended to one side and the other side disappeared into blackness. Emma, Jake, Horace and Olive were already there as she waited for the others to come down. It was colder down there as well and when Bronwyn climbed down she opened her trunk and passed out the sheep's wool sweaters to everyone. It practically swallowed her but she appreciated the warmth it gave. Since her trunk was now empty Bronwyn left it behind, Miss Peregrine nestled in her arms, Millard carrying the Tales no matter how bulky it was. Aurora could tell it had become his security blanket like a book of spells only he knew how to read. She held his free hand as they walked, their intertwined fingers hidden beneath the baggy sleeves of the sweaters. When Enoch started talking about how the tunnel's purpose must have been for graveyard overflow Aurora held Millard's hand tighter and he whispered in her ear.

"It's not so different from our cairn tunnel. Unpleasant loop entrances serve a purpose – normals tend to avoid them, so we peculiars have them all to ourselves." He said trying to reassure and comfort her to some degree. Then they heard it, not the sound of wings or a pigeon coo, but sniffling like someone was crying.

"Hello?" Emma called, "Who's there?"

"Please don't hurt me." Came an echoing voice.

Olive brightened her flame to expose a small chamber filled with bones. Aurora grabbed Millard's arm tighter, he held her close almost like if he held her tight enough to him his invisibility would rub off onto her and protect her. Bronwyn jumped back and even Jake looked a bit green.

"Who said that?" Emma called again, "Show yourself!"

Aurora peeked over Millard's sweater covered shoulder and into the chamber. At the top of the pile of bones hidden by the darkness were two pairs of glowing eyes.

"There's no one here." Said a small voice.

"Go away." Came a second voice, "We're dead."

"No you're not! And I would know!" Enoch said stepping forward to hide Olive behind his body.

"Come out of there." Emma said again, more gently this time, "We're not going to hurt you."

"Promise?" Both voices asked at once.

"We promise."

There was the sound of bones shifting, some rolled and fell to the floor in front of their feet. Then two young boys crawled into the light, their skin was pale and their eyes had dark circles around them.

"I'm Emma, this is Jacob and these are our friends. We're peculiar and we're not going to hurt you." The boys said nothing looking around at everything and everyone like frightened animals. "Can you tell me your names?" Emma tried.

"I am Joel and Peter." Said the taller boy.

"I am Peter and Joel." The smaller one said at the same time.

"Are there any birds in there with you?"

"The pigeons like to hide." Said the larger.

"In the attic." Said the smaller.

"What attic?" Emma asked, "Where?"

"In our house." They said together.

"Could you show us the way to your house?" Olive asked but Joel and Peter shook their heads and shrank back into the shadows.

"Death and blood!"

"Blood and screaming!"

"Cheerio!" Horace said with a tip of his hat, "I'll see you all back at the crypt. Hope I don't get squashed by a bomb!" But Bronwyn caught Horace by his sleeve as Emma asked more questions.

Their loop had been raided, they explained, but they managed to escape into the catacombs and hide. They didn't know how long it'd been, losing all track of time down in the dark.

"We can help you." Emma offered, "But first we need to catch a pigeon." The boys looked at each other then back to Emma.

"Follow us." They said again in unison.