Stuck in the moment

Chapter nine

"Is this the place?" Jake asked as we walked on the beach. "Not exactly." I told him. "This is how we get there." Emma told him, walking towards the small boat. "All aboard!" I shouted. Jake and Emma sat down and I pushed it towards the shore, before sitting down myself. "Is everyone ready?" I asked. Emma nodded while Jake just stared at me confused.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I imagined the water lifting up the boat and guiding us to the open seas. I heard Jake gasp in surprise and I knew that we were now in mid-air, lifted by the sea. After a short while we were on a normal level again and sailing towards a specific spot. Emma was stirring the boat. After about ten minutes, I began to undress. I took off my jacket, my shirt and jeans and my shoes. Jake looked away awkwardly. Emma took off her dress. I held her hand and the two of us dived into the cold ocean.

I formed an air bubble around my head so I could breath as Emma dragged me down with her. It was a lot easier than swimming all the way down. We saw Jake jump into the cold sea as well an Emma blew a stream of air towards him, so that Jake had a bubble around his head too. A few moments later we landed in the dining hall of the Augusta. Emma let go of my hand, knowing that I could stand on my own now. She grabbed hold of Jake's hand, who stared at the two of us in amazement. I winked at him before Emma and I began to cross the dining hall filled with skeletons. When we first came here, me and her put the skeletons in seats, so it looked like they were having dinner. We swam across the room and entered the bar. Jake entered soon after us and Emma and I shut the door.

She gave me a firm nod and I placed my hands in front of me, as if I was pushing something. Emma began to blow air and I pushed it from my hands. The room began to drain slowly, but surely. Jake was pushed against the wall as well while Emma and I continued to fill the room with air. Soon enough, the room was completely drained. The door behind us tried to open, but Emma and I pushed it shut. The three of us panted as we leaned against the wall. "Jacob Portman, may I present to you our secret hideout." I exclaimed, walking through the room. "How did you..." Jake asked us. "Air. It's my peculiarity. It does what I want." Emma explained, following me. "And Amelia controls all the elements, so that wasn't too hard to figure out." she added.

I leaned on the bar, looking around the room. Emma walked behind it, looking for the box. Jake stood next to me, only centimetres away. He studied my face. I nervously glanced to the ground before helping Emma looking for the box. "Jake, before your grandfather retired, he asked us to keep this safe." she said, taking the metal box from its hiding place. I opened the box and spun it towards Jake. Emma and I walked out from behind the bar and looked as Jake opened the envelope with pictures. He grabbed its content and stared at the map. "This is my grandpa's old map." he exclaimed. "It shows you where the other loops are located." I told him. He looked through the pictures, looking for the man. "That's-That's him! That's the man we saw, right Amelia?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Who is he?" "It's Barron." I told him. "He's the leader." Emma clarified. "Leader of what? Who are these people?" Jake wondered. I glanced at Emma, who nodded approvingly. "Bad peculiars. Those tired of living in the shadows." I said. "Abe dedicated his life to hunting them down." Emma added. "These are the ones he never found." "What do you mean 'hunting'?" Jake asked, putting down the photos. She glanced at the ground. "He has the right to know the truth, tell him." I told Emma. "They raided loops. Whole homes, filled with children left for dead." she told Jake, looking him in the eye. "Your grandfather took lives to save lives, the lives of innocent children. The only reason he ever retired was your birth, so that he could protect you." I stated.

"From what?" he choked, staring at me in fright. Emma sucked in some air, looking around the room. "May I?" she asked me. I gestured for her to start talking. "If we tell you the rest you have to promise not to run away." she said with a smile. "Jake, you belong here, just as much as Emma and I." I told him. "You know I don't. I'm...not like you. I'm just ordinary." Jake said. "No, you're not. Jake, only a peculiar can enter a time loop." Emma explained to him. "No, that, that can't be right." Jake stammered. "I would know." I glanced at Emma, who gestured towards Jake. "Alright then." I stated, looking at my watch. "You don't believe us? I'll make you." I growled, pulling him with me, Emma following us with a smirk.

We marched back to the home. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Emma asked me after a while. "If this is the only way Jake will accept his peculiarity, then yes, this is a good idea." I told her, determination clearly heard in my voice. "Amy! Where are we going?" Jake shouted a few feet behind us. "To the home." I replied.

After five minutes or less, we arrived at the garden walls. I grabbed a rope and tied it around Emma's waist. She took of her boots and floated up, holding onto the ivy covering the wall. I climbed up, holding the rope tightly. I glanced over the wall, seeing miss Peregrine in the distance. "Hurry, you'll miss it." Emma told Jake, looking down on him. He climbed up. Jake stared at the seemingly peaceful scene. "Ymbrynes usually pick the perfect day to create a loop, but miss Peregrine had to make this one in a rush." Emma explained to him. "Why?" Jake asked. "Well, maybe it's because the Germans were about to bomb the home?" I said sarcastically. He glanced at me annoyed. "Look, the thing is, the third of September, 1943 wasn't exactly what one would call 'perfect'." I told him. "The thing that killed Victor came back." Emma added.

Miss Peregrine walked towards the cliff with her crossbow. She stopped a few metres before the lines on the ground, marking the spot where the Hollow was going to fall in a few moments. Miss Peregrine checked her watch and then glanced back towards the sea. She waited patiently. I stared at the black-haired woman, knowing that she would kill it, yet I was still scared she might miss. I saw the grass move slightly near the coast. It was the Hollow climbing up. "Wait, watch out!" Jake shouted. "Hush! You'll put her off!" Emma hissed. Now footsteps became visible, the grass being squashed under the Hollow's weight. Miss Peregrine checked her watch once more and then turned her attention back to the nearing, invisible creature. She took aim and waited for a few more seconds before firing. A screech filled the air around us and a loud thump followed. The Hollow was dead. Miss Peregrine walked away, clearly pleased with herself. "You can see it, right? Nobody here can." I told him. "Jake, it's invisible. That was your grandfather's most amazing gift of all. He could see the monsters, just like you." Jake stared at the dead Hollow in fear.

Emma climbed down and put on her shoes again. She walked away, probably towards miss Peregrine. "Jake..." I whispered, placing my hand on his shoulder. He looked over to me, terror all over his face. "I think it's time miss Peregrine explained you everything." I told him. "The bird and the lioness will explain everything..." he mumbled, reciting his grandpa's words. "Miss Peregrine and you..." "Yes. Your grandfather told me to take you here, so that miss Peregrine could explain everything, but I think he wanted me to tell you something too." I stated. "Well, what is it?" he asked me. "I don't know...but whatever it was, it must've been important..." I muttered more to myself than to Jake. "But I think for now, it's important to see miss Peregrine."