After a few minutes of interrogation, (Y/N) decided that the future-telling was for Jacob, and turned toward Millard to ask: "How did your family take it? When they found out you were peculiar, I mean."

    He paused. "Not very well, I'm afraid."

    (Y/N) sighed, wondering what it would be like if her family found out that she and Jacob had powers. It would probably result in a similar outcome as the ones Millard had hinted at earlier.

     "I suppose it would be the same for me," (Y/N) acknowledged. "After all, almost all of my relatives thought Abraham was insane. Perhaps faith is just as scarce as peculiarity. After all, only Jacob and I believed."

    She paused, thinking. "Oh yes, I've been wondering: if peculiarity is genealogical, but skips generations, what's the closest distribution there's ever been? Parent-child? Cousins? Siblings? Twins?"

    "I've heard stories of twins both possessing a peculiarity," Millard responded in a low voice. "But personally, the closest I've witnessed is a brother and sister with peculiarities. In fact, Bronwyn—"

    (Y/N) couldn't tell if Millard cut himself off or got interrupted, for at the moment, Olive exclaimed "a Moon landing?!" and all the peculiars began clamoring to speak over each other.

<><><><><>

As it neared sunset, the gathering finally began to disperse. After changing, all the children—save Millard and Emma—started home in the dying light.

"I ought to escort you home," Millard declared. "To protect you. In case something happens." He ended very nonspecifically.

"Oh yeah, from what?" (Y/N) teased. "I thought you said the wight and hollow were dead!"

"W-well, they are, but there's a chance they alerted others," he stammered.

"Pshh," (Y/N) scoffed, kicking at the sandy shoreline. "In that case, I would be obliged to point them in your direction," she replies with a grin before sprinting through the muddy woods and toward the loop entrance. "Just how many of the monsters do you claim exist?" she called over her shoulder.

"T-that's not funny, (Y/N). You know we can't get out of the loop, especially since—" This time, Millard clearly cut himself off.

Both of them stopped running, which was probably for the better, because after watching the two retreating silhouettes in front of them, (Y/N) realized they had just saved themselves from having to watch Jacob and Emma flirt for the next ten minutes.

     "Oh, so there is something you're not telling me!" (Y/N) exclaimed.

    Millard just stood there, unmoving. Refusing to speak.

    "Uh, Invisiboy," (Y/N) snapped her fingers. "You know I can still see you, right? Like, being still doesn't magically trick my peculiarity. Or me."

    He scowled and continued to walk. "I don't need a reminder from Miss Peregrine to know that I shouldn't tell you everything."

    "Because I'm going to be going home in a few days or because.....?" (Y/N) trails off.

    "Because it's not sensible." Millard replies stiffly.

    "Yeah, whatever. At least tell me you have a good reason, or I'm going to have to assume that you're just as self-concerned as my mother."

    "I promise."

    "I'll accept that." They arrived at the cairn and watched Emma and Jacob go through to take pictures. "Well, I shall try to return tomorrow, but in the meanwhile, would you do some more research on that tabby?"

    "Do you take me to be a neglectful investigator?" he huffed indignantly.

    "No," (Y/N) smiled. "I was just distracting you," she dangled his paperboy hat in front of him and a blush painted itself behind his freckles.

    Flipping it onto her head, (Y/N) ran into the cairn, footsteps echoing, and exited into the present, throwing herself around the corner and splashing mud all over herself.

    When Millard didn't come out for a minute, (Y/N) started to stand from her crouched position, whereupon she heard rustling leaves and a stick cracking behind her. She turned around and saw only a large shadow skimming along the forest floor.

    Alarmed but intrigued, (Y/N) slowly concentrated her energy and attempted to manipulate the scenery before her until she could see something. However, every time she got close to distinguishing the outline of the mysterious form, the image would snap back to what she saw before: nothing. Something was sucking the light around it and refusing to let her view it.

    Maybe it's just some strange energy coming from the loop? (Y/N) thought. Yeah, because energy can snap twigs, her practical side replied.

    Pulling her knife out of her pocket, (Y/N) stepped forward, ready to beat this thing up. Or get beaten up.

    It's one or the other. And I'm not falling off a cliff today.

    "(Y/N), give it back!" Millard shouted exasperatedly. "I've got to go back and assist with table setting immediately!

    "Shh!" (Y/N) exclaimed, but the shadow disappeared. "Are you sure Miss P. killed that hollow? I just saw a shadow." She had gotten a rudimentary explanation of wights and hollows before from Miss P. (and last week's dream still ran somewhat fresh in her head), but it basically consisted of physical characteristics and the fact that she had killed them both while (Y/N) was asleep recovering from her concussion. And apparently that they typically travel together.

    "Of course. She's intelligent enough to know when something is dead or not," Millard huffed. "And she would never intentionally mislead us...unless it was absolutely necessary."

    Taking the hat off, (Y/N) sighed and admitted to herself that it could've been the day's exhaustion, which finally hit her full force.

    "Perhaps I was misinterpreting the source of the shadow. Maybe it was something in the trees? Or I'm too tired now to use my peculiarity properly?"

    Still...she could barely sense it, but she thought she smelled the stench from her dream—the smell of hollowgast. And there was something important...about her cousin...but she couldn't remember it.

    Millard opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Emma, who came back from the edge of the woods. "Oh! Is Miss P. searching for me? Have I caused a fuss? Am I in trouble?"

    "No, no." (Y/N) assured her quickly. "I just have to get going in order to arrive back in time for dinner. And I'm exhausted. Thank you so much for today," she smiled at the two wards.

    They said their goodbyes quickly, and (Y/N) rushed out into the rain in order to make it home in time, preferably undetected. Just as she reached the back of the Priest Hole, she heard the sounds of pandemonium. She tried not to create too much noise as she crept to peek around the corner of the brick building.

At that point, she saw Jacob in the middle of everything, getting screamed at by a man in a knit cap.

"In the big house with who?" the man demanded of Jacob.

If my parents are there, I'm going to get in serious trouble if I say I was out with him, she reasoned. I should just climb back into my room.

Yeah, but it doesn't have to be a Him-or-You situation. There's a way to save both of you, she realized with relief.

Weighing the consequences of getting in trouble—both with her parents and with these people—(Y/N) stepped in. "With me," she replied, hopefully saving Jacob. "What's going on here anyway?"

"Yer sure that you weren't killing any sheep with this boy?" one of the men replied, ignoring her.

"Um, yes." (Y/N) said. Her neurons scrambled to compose a cover story that would hold up. "We were over there photoshopping some pictures. There's proof—Jacob has them on his phone!" she says, pointing to him.

Jacob widened his eyes and fumbled for his cell, pulling up a few of his pictures with Emma around the cairn.

"See?" (Y/N) exclaimed.

Luckily, the villagers didn't care about corroborating the story as much as they cared about finding a scapegoat. They broke into more arguing, and (Y/N), Jacob, and his dad took that as an opportunity to escape into the building. Both of them gave her a look that said "thank you," and she smiled in return.

"Have you seen my parents?" she asked Jacob's dad, hoping to hear that they'd left the building and wouldn't double-ground her.

"No. You know we don't talk that much," he replied evenly.

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks," she said, sprinting into her room before the noisy pub got filled with angry villagers, and to figure out where her parents and sister were...hopefully not looking for her.

Fortunately, she opens her door and sees a note on the wooden floor: Gone for groceries, it reads.

    Good, (Y/N) sighs, sinking slowly into her not-very-soft bed. Now I just have to get away with this exact thing tomorrow. And bring that book back with me.

Hey! Just a little contest in the comments: If you can guess what the book does, I'll give you a shoutout and read/recommend your book(s) at the end of the chapter where it's revealed!