Am I crazy?

I don't think so, but my parents sure do.

After spending months looking for a mental hospital for me, they remembered that my grandfather had lived in one when he was a kid; it was on some isolated island I'd never heard of off the coast of Wales; it'd helped him with whatever was wrong with him, and over the years, he'd gone back and visited a few times.

So they shipped me off to Wales the first chance they got.

It was very foggy and I couldn't see the entire ferry ride from the mainland to the island- a place called Cairnholm. Though when the island came into view, it was very beautiful; rocky cliffs guarded bright green terrain, smoke rose from cottage chimneys. I was in awe until the moment the ferry pulled up to the dock.

My therapist, Dr. Golan, helped me get my suitcases onto land and waited with me there. We didn't speak; we'd done the bulk of our talking on the trip here, and both of us took in the island. I began to think that this would be the perfect place for a mental hospital; completely isolated from society, in the midst of a simpler, more natural place.

After a few minutes, Dr. Golan pointed at the dirt trail that led from the village to the other side of the island, which couldn't be seen from where we were standing. Four people were coming towards the village; one ran ahead while the other three walked behind.

As they approached the pier through the village, I saw that it was an old woman, two boys, and a girl.

"You must be Jacob Portman," the old woman said to me once she stepped onto the pier, "I am Headmistress Peregrine." She turned to Dr. Golan. He handed her my file. "Thank you."

Dr. Golan placed his hand on my shoulder and said, "now you be good." then got back on the boat.

The smaller of the two boys slowly walked up to me, squinty eyes nervous. He looked around twelve or thirteen, and wore a very strange outfit; a black formal suit complete with a bow tie, monocle, and top hat. A lock of copper hair protruded from the brim of his hat.

"Hi." I said to all four of them, smiling friendly.

The girl came up to me and shook my hand. "Hi there! My name's Emma!" Emma was very pretty. Her wavy blonde hair was long enough to caress her hips, and her flinty gray eyes shone brilliantly with excitement. She looked around my age; she was actually a few inches taller than me.

"I'm Jacob." I smiled at her.

The very tall boy who hadn't said anything finally stepped forward. He looked maybe seventeen or eighteen, but appeared much younger; he had the face of a scared child and the air of a little boy who simply refused to grow up. "Hullo there." He said. "My name's Millard." He stuck out his hand and I shook it.

"And that's Horace." Emma gestured to the smaller boy, who was still eyeing me carefully. "Both of them are pretty shy at first, but I assure you; when we play the Peculiar Game, they don't really shut up."

I cocked an eyebrow. "The...what game?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "You are Abe Portman's grandson, right?"

I nodded.

"Then you of all people should know what the Peculiar Game is!" Millard interjected. "Heck, I expected that you would've been playing it since you were in diapers!"

"Well... I have no idea what you're talking about." I shook my head.

"We'll explain it when we get to the house. Come on!" Emma motioned me to follow her as she ran down the dirt road. The boys followed her with a similar energy, leaving me alone with Miss Peregrine.

She looked at me and smiled. "I will take your bags; you go run along with the other children."

I looked between her and the three kids who stood at the end of the road, waving me over. "Thanks." I told the headmistress, then I bolted towards the others; once I reached them, they didn't let me catch my breath before taking off again.

I followed them away from the village, into a boggy area; Emma instructed me to only step where they stepped. "Is this really the way to the home?" I asked.

"You wanted to know about the Peculiar Game, don't you?" Emma replied.

"Yeah."

"Well we have to go through here then!"

I said nothing more and followed them.

We got so deep into the bog, I was beginning to think we might be lost.

That is, until we got to the cairn.

The three other children crawled into it; I followed. It was a tight squeeze that ended in a dark chamber.

I felt them brush past me and crawl back out. When I got back out to the bog, everything was exactly the same.

"What was the point of that?" I asked.

"That was the loop entrance." Emma said.

"The what now?"

"It's how we get into the loop." Emma rephrased.

"Again, the what now?"

"Yes; it's September 3rd, 1940." Millard explained.

"Not really making much more sense." I said.

"Maybe we should go back outside the loop to explain it." Horace suggested.

Emma became flustered and frowned deeply at the boy. "No we can't! Miss Peregrine is already going to have told the others we're playing!"

"We could just tell the, we've changed our minds."

Em,a smacked him so hard it echoed and he stumbled back, gripping his face. I noticed he looked terrified; he curled up in a ball and started rocking back and forth. Millard knelt down to comfort him, but the copper-haired boy was in the middle of a panic attack.

I looked at Emma. "What was that for?"

She frowned and crossed her arms. "We don't have time for this!" She stomped her feet. "Come on!"

I gaped at the three of them; just a few minutes ago they'd been so calm, cool, and collected, but now they were at each other's throats. I guess I should've expected that from a bunch of kids from a mental institution.

Millard calmed Horace down within the next couple minutes, and Emma had also calmed down a bit. Millard helped the younger boy up; Horace tried to stand tall as if none of that had just happened; although his red, tear-streaked face couldn't fool anyone. 

"So is this the peculiar game?" I asked.

"No! This was a fluke!" Horace glared at Emma. "Some people have no respect for other people's disabilities." He pushed ahead so he was leading the group. "This way; the game starts now."

___________________

Sorry that took so long

I knew a lot of you were waiting forever for that

I know it wasn't really that good

it'll get better

I promise

Love ya!

CC