✨⋆˚࿔ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝔾𝕚𝕣𝕝𝜗𝜚˚⋆

We made the whole way back, but this time, there was no fog at all…

Much less rain or mud on the ground. It seemed like the weather had changed drastically from one hour to the next.

But I didn't see a problem with that, the less it rained, the better. I hated getting dirty, even though, because of Jacob and the runaway girl, I had gotten mud up to my waist.

Soon we were back at the pub, but things seemed strange... Different in some way I didn't quite understand.

We entered and went up the stairs, but before we could step on the first step, a man shouted at us:

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh... To our room."

Jacob said, confusion in his voice.

"Hah! Your room? What do you think this is? A hotel?!"

"Actually yes..."

I shot back. And that made the man seem even more irritated.

He looked me up and down, specifically at me.

I didn't understand what the problem was... Sure, I was almost two meters tall, had green hair and piercings, but the people on the island had already seen me, so I didn't think they would be so surprised by this point.

The man approached us with a threatening look, got so close to us and then pushed me away from Jake.

"Hey!"

"There's nothing here for people like you on this island!"

It was when he said this that I understood what was happening....

Some men surrounded us, and I noticed Jacob sweating nervously.

I grabbed his hand and ran away from there through the door, where we had to dodge a large man.

We kept running for a good while, and it was possible to hear the men from the bar behind us.

Until we reached a small alley and started to slow down... This was until Jake gave a scream and his sweaty hand slipped from mine.

I turned around and... The girl, the runaway one, blonde and in a white dress, was threatening Jacob with a knife to his neck.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

I yelled at her, but when I took a step forward to stop her, I saw her press the knife tighter against my friend's neck.

That made me too nervous, so I didn't approach for now.

"Who are you?! What were you doing in the house? Come on, show me your eyes!"

This only made me think that this girl was a psychopath. What did she want with our eyes?!

"W-Wait! My name is Jacob Portman, I'm Abraham Portman's grandson!"

"Liar! Show me your eyes right now!"

She screamed again, and I saw Jacob widen his eyes to show them to her.

The girl grumbled and stomped her foot on the ground.

"No! Your real eyes! These fakes don't fool me anymore!!"

"What's wrong, blondie?! Are you crazy??"

I yelled at her.

She turned to me, now pointing the knife in my direction.

"Quiet, green-haired boy!"

Before I could retort, we heard the men approaching, now with clubs and other heavy things, probably to beat us.

"What— What did you do?!"

"You're not the only one wanting to kill us!"

Jacob said desperately as he looked at the approaching men.

The girl grabbed his arm and mine.

"You are my prisoners now, and you will come with me!"

Then she started running while holding us.

We passed through more deserted streets, almost bumping into other people. Then we reached a low wall, which the blonde girl made us jump, then made us enter an empty house…

We stood in a corner, avoiding the windows as much as possible.

I looked around and realized how much everything seemed... Old.

Jake then said:

"What year are we in?"

"Ha... If you want to know so badly, see for yourself."

She said and then pushed Jacob near a calendar. I don't know what he saw, but after a few seconds he collapsed on the floor.

"Jacob!!"

Then I felt a blow to the back of my head and fainted too...

When we woke up, both Jake and I were tied to an old wood stove.

I think Jacob got annoyed with me when, unlike him, I didn't decide to pretend I was still unconscious.

"What the hell!"

I yelled, still feeling the same pain behind my head.

The girl, who was standing in front of us, turned quickly to us.

"Aha! Look who's awake! The wights."

"The what?!"

I asked, not understanding anything.

The girl clapped sarcastically.

"Please! Don't act like idiots, we know exactly what you are!"

"Uh, Emma, I don't agree with this..."

A voice came out of nowhere. I looked from one side to the other trying to find the source of the voice, but there was no one else there.

"Quiet! Don't say my name to them!"

"What—"

I tried to understand the situation, but I was starting to think that the blow to the head had done something to my brain…

"Millard Nullings, at your service!"

The voice said again.

"You're invisible!"

Jacob commented.

I stayed quiet while both Emma and Millard argued. How was this possible? Was I dreaming right now?

"What the hell is happening??"

I asked out loud.

"We're in 1943..."

Jake whispered to me.

My eyes widened in surprise at what he said. The invisible boy and the blonde girl stopped arguing, and she turned to us again.

"You're kidding, right?!"

I asked, already annoyed with all this.

Emma looked to her side, where Millard probably was.

"We need to get out of here, now."

The invisible boy said.

Then I felt something approach me and untie my hands and Jacob's...

I had definitely gone crazy and this was a dream

.

Emma again grabbed me and Jake by the arm and led us out of the house.

I looked around the alley and saw the men approaching, and the girl immediately started running again.

I then heard Millard say:

"Keep going, I'll catch up with you soon!"

We kept running, but upon hearing a noise, I turned back and noticed the men all tripping in the air. The work of the invisible boy.

We reached the bar, and I feared seeing the man who had threatened us again, but Emma didn't seem to care about the safety of me or Jake and continued to enter the establishment.

Jake and I stood in a corner while Emma talked to the man.

"Bartender! A bottle of your best and strongest drink!"

She said, hitting the table.

"I can't serve drinks to little girls— Hey! It's you again!"

Emma didn't waste any time, right after another hit on the table everything started to catch fire.

My eyes widened so much that I got a headache.

The blonde approached us again and started kicking the floor, soon opening a trapdoor, which she forced us to enter.

We crawled through a narrow and smelly tunnel, until Emma kicked a wall that came loose with the impact.

"Finally!"

Millard said, helping the girl to get up.

I passed after her, refusing the help, and then helped Jacob get out.

There was a carriage outside, which Emma, under threats, forced us to get on and hide.

I did what she ordered reluctantly, and Jake soon followed me.

After a few minutes, the carriage started to move, and there we went, not knowing the path or destination, blindly trusting a girl who created fire (and who had threatened us) and an invisible boy.

Moments later... Emma made us jump from our ride, and after that we walked along a trail... One I already knew well, it was the path of the destroyed orphanage.

But, when we got there, there was no overgrowth to cross, and the house wasn't destroyed but instead stood there in all its glory…

It was magnificent, no crooked brick or out of place, it looked like it had been painted the morning before.

Emma pulled us to the door, and decided to tie us up now so that we could enter.

She also made us take off our dirty shoes.

Upon entering the house, I felt like I was in another world. It was beautiful and smelled much better now. There were children hiding, watching us.

I waved to one with golden curls and a baby-blue dress, but she turned and ran down another corridor.

Emma led us to a room with a large window facing the garden where children were playing and running all over the place.

The girl left for another place and left us there.

I turned to my friend, who was also watching the children outside.

"Are you okay, Special Ed?"

I asked and he turned to me... With a smile on his face.

"Everything my grandfather said... Was real."

I widened my eyes. I still thought I was in a feverish dream, but Jake... He saw all this as real and was trying to convince me too.

Emma returned and took Jacob to another room, when she returned she decided to free me.

"Do what you want, just don't bother anyone."

She told me and returned to the room where she had taken Jake.

So I decided it was a great moment to explore the house... So I went to the garden.

There, some children who were playing stopped to watch me. A little girl under ten with a pink dress and shoes that seemed to weigh on her feet.

"Hello!"

She said with a smile, to which I only responded with a nod.

"How did you get here?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"I'm Olive! I like your hair."

"Thanks... I think. I'm Ricky."

The girl looked at me for a few seconds, a little smile on her young face.

"Well, welcome to our time loop!"

"Your what??"

"How don't you know what it is? Only peculiars can enter a time loop, so you must be one too!"

"What did you call me—"

"Olive!"

A boy's voice called her.

"Enoch!"

She called back, and then a blonde boy in overalls appeared beside her.

"Who is this?"

"He said his name is Richy!"

The little Olive said excitedly.

"It's Ricky..."

"Hm... Why is your hair like that?"

Enoch asked.

"Oh, I painted it. Do you like it?"

I said, running my hand through my painted hair.

"No. It looks like a rotten fruit."

The boy said with his arms crossed.

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself as much as possible.

"Do you want to play with us?"

Olive asked, making Enoch grumble a bit.

"Why does he have to play with us?"

"Oh, please, Enoch!"

"Fine..."

The two led me to another part of the garden, under the shade of a tree, on the grass lay some toys and... Jars with hearts inside.

I immediately recoiled and Enoch laughed.

"Don't worry, they're from animals."

He said and then, along with Olive, sat in the shade of the tree.

They stared at me, expecting me to do the same, so that's what I did.

Enoch picked up an old doll with its back open, opened one of the jars and took a heart in his hand and shoved it inside the doll... A few seconds later, it opened its eyes on its own and started walking.

I was fascinated by that, but also a little curious.

"How did you do that?"

I asked, without stopping to stare at the walking doll.

Enoch smiled and answered.

"It's my peculiarity. And what's yours?"

"I don't have that stuff..."

"Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be able to enter our loop."

Jacob and I made our way back across the island.

Exhausted and disappointed…

Well, he was more disappointed than I was. I’d never really expected anyone to still be living there.

As we walked, I kept stealing glances at Jake, who simply stared at the ground as he continued forward.

It was awful watching my friend’s hope die like that…

When we arrived back at Priest’s Hole, his father was waiting for us at one of the pub’s tables, a dark liquid sitting in a glass in front of him—Welsh beer, probably.

“So? Did you find someone willing to take you there?”

Frank asked, never taking his eyes off the laptop sitting open on the table.

Jacob nodded, leaving out the part where our guides had abandoned us halfway there.

“And did you find Miss Peregrine?”

“No… the house was in ruins…”

Jacob answered, taking a seat beside his father.

I sat down next to him as well.

Before long, the conversation took an unpleasant turn…

Jake’s father started talking about how absent Abraham had been as a father, even suggesting that he’d been unfaithful to his wife.

I watched the color drain from my friend’s face.

He clearly couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

How could he accept that the man he’d admired his entire life might have been capable of betraying his own wife?

Jacob stood up and walked out of the pub.

At that moment, I wasn’t sure whether I should follow him, but I figured he needed some time alone to process everything.

I got to my feet and gave Frank a small nod before leaving the pub myself.

Not to follow Jake.

Just to clear my own head after everything that had happened in a single day.

I wandered around for a while until I bumped into those boys again.

They stared at me.

I stared right back.

The two of them walked over, and then Worm asked,

“So… find what you were looking for?”

“Not even close. The place was completely wrecked.”

I shot back.

“That’s what you’d expect after it got bombed by the Nazis.”

I frowned, completely confused.

“What?”

I asked, not understanding what he meant.

Even though the implication was obvious…

The thought itself stunned me.

“Yeah. September 3rd, 1940. The Nazis bombed Cairnholm.

A bomb landed right on the roof of the house.

None of them survived.”

My eyes went wide.

I felt the color drain from my own face, just like it had from Jacob’s back at the pub.

Then anger replaced the shock.

Jake knew about this?

And he still expected me to come all the way out here to explore a haunted house?!

Without saying another word to the two Welsh boys, I turned and walked away.

I needed time to think.

Now I wandered aimlessly through the village.

I had nowhere in particular to go.

Nothing I really wanted to do.

I just couldn’t shake the feeling that Jacob might have known about all this…

And lied to get me to come with him.

But why would he?

If he knew the house had been destroyed…

Then why come here at all?

None of it made any sense.

And somehow, every passing second only made things even stranger.

I was beginning to think this whole trip had been a complete waste of time.

After several minutes of thinking things over, I decided to head back to Priest’s Hole.

Jacob’s father was still sitting exactly where I’d left him, typing away on his laptop about birds… or whatever it was he was writing.

I sat down at the bar, facing the counter.

I watched Frank for a few seconds until I was sure he wasn’t paying attention to me.

Then I ordered a beer.

The bartender quickly poured me one, gave me a wink, and said he’d put it on my partner’s dad’s tab.

I frowned and looked back at him, one eyebrow raised.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I asked, my voice rising just enough that I worried Frank might have heard me.

The bartender stared at me, puzzled.

“Your partner… the one who’s always with you. I heard Dylan telling the fishmonger that—”

My eyes immediately widened so much that I thought they were about to pop out of my skull.

“No, no! It’s not like that! We’re just friends!”

The bartender nodded…

But the look on his face told me he didn’t really believe me.

“I’m serious!”

I shifted uneasily, raising my voice again.

The man chuckled, shaking his head before giving me a sympathetic smile that practically screamed, I understand.

I let out a long sigh and stared thoughtfully into my beer.

No one had ever read me so well before.

I could still feel the bartender watching me.

When I finally looked back at him, he wore the same understanding expression.

“It’s normal at your age…”

My face immediately flushed bright red.

I decided it was time to leave.

I climbed the stairs to the rooms and stepped into the one Jacob and I were sharing.

I practically threw myself onto the bed and buried my face in the pillow.

The only reason I realized I’d fallen asleep…

Was because I woke up.

I was jolted awake by a shout from the bed beside mine.

Jake’s bed.

Only then did I realize I’d slept through the entire night.

So deeply that I hadn’t even heard Jacob come back.

“What?! What happened?!”

“There was a bird in here!”

Jacob exclaimed, pointing toward his nightstand.

I got up and walked over to inspect it.

Deep claw marks had been carved into the wood.

Just as I was about to say something, Frank stumbled into the room, looking half asleep…

Or maybe just drunk.

“Wow! It’s not common for peregrines to get this close to humans!”

He said after examining the scratches himself.

“Peregrines?”

My friend looked at his father in confusion.

“Yes. Peregrine falcons.”

I looked from Frank to Jacob, trying to make sense of the strange exchange…

Then it hit me.

Miss Peregrine.

Okay…

Maybe I was starting to lose my mind just as much as Jake.

But…

It actually made sense.

Jacob had mentioned that his grandfather talked about a bird before he died.

He could only have been talking about her.

We got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

It was fish.

I felt sick just looking at it, so I skipped breakfast entirely and walked outside instead.

A few minutes later, Jacob joined me.

“You knew?”

I asked.

“What?”

“That they’d been bombed… the orphans.”

He looked at me.

It was an ugly expression, as though he already knew what I was really asking—

whether he’d hidden that from me.

“Of course not. My grandpa never told me…

I only found out yesterday when we went to the museum.”

A heavy silence settled between us.

Then he finally spoke.

“I’m going back.”

“What?! Why??”

“To see if there are any clues left. Letters… anything about the children or my grandpa.”

He looked away as he said it, as if even he realized how absurd it sounded.

But honestly…

We’d already come all this way.

What was the harm in taking one more trip to the house of horrors?

I grabbed Jacob by the shoulder, pulled him into a quick hug, and lightly knocked my knuckles against the top of his head.

“I’m going wherever you go, Special Ed.”

I said with a grin while he tried to wriggle free from my grip.

A few minutes later, there we were again, hiking back up the hill, leaving the village behind in search of the old house.

A few drops of rain landed on me, which annoyed me a little, but I doubted a little rain was going to stop Jacob.

We retraced the entire route until the trail disappeared once more.

We stepped into the thick fog hanging near the sheep barn and carefully pushed our way through wet bushes and tangled plants until the crumbling house came into view again.

We circled around to the back of the house, where the only usable entrance was through the garden.

We finally stepped inside.

Everything was exactly the disaster you’d expect from a house that had been blown apart decades ago.

Jacob had us search every room on the first floor.

When we found nothing, we made our way to the staircase.

There were only two possible directions.

Up…

Or down.

After a quick look into the basement, we decided to explore the second floor first.

It was far too dark down there.

On the second floor, we searched every bedroom until we reached one with two beds positioned on opposite sides of the room.

Jake noticed a small box tucked beneath one of them.

It was empty.

That was the moment his spirit finally broke.

I watched my friend sit down on the bed…

And start crying.

I wanted to do something.

Anything.

Anything that might make him feel even a little better.

With every passing minute, our search felt more and more pointless.

Then, while glancing around the room, I noticed something underneath the other bed.

A strange metallic glint.

When I crouched down to investigate, I found a large chest secured with a heavy padlock.

“Hey! Look at this!”

Jacob immediately got up and hurried over, kneeling beside me as he spotted it too.

“There has to be something inside.

Nobody locks an empty chest.”

He said.

With a lot of effort, we dragged the chest out from beneath the bed.

Then we tried just about everything we could think of to open it.

At one point, Jake even tried prying it open with a piece of metal he’d ripped from one of the bed frames…

The only result was him collapsing onto the floor, completely out of breath.

I sat down beside him and helped him back into a sitting position.

Then he looked at me and said,

“I’ve got an idea…”

I gave him a puzzled look.

“What?”

“We throw the chest down the stairs.”

…

Okay.

That wasn’t what I was expecting.

With a great deal of effort, we dragged the chest toward the staircase.

It was incredibly heavy, badly rotted with age, and one of its legs kept snagging on the floorboards every few feet.

But eventually…

We made it.

Together, we shoved it toward the edge of the stairs.

One final kick…

And the chest toppled over.

It crashed down the staircase, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing up from the floor below.

I looked over the railing.

Instead of smashing against the floor, the chest had punched straight through it, leaving a chest-shaped hole and crashing into the basement beneath.

Jacob and I looked at each other for a few seconds.

“So?”

I asked.

“We’re going to have to go down there.”

He replied.

We made our way back downstairs, carefully avoiding the hole the chest had left behind.

The basement was damp.

It stank.

And it was so dark that not a single ray of light—natural or otherwise—reached inside.

I ran my hands along the walls, trying to locate the fallen chest…

Instead, I bumped into a shelf lined with glass jars.

Jacob switched on his phone’s flashlight and aimed it where I’d bumped into something.

The jars…

Contained human organs.

Hearts.

Eyes.

Brains.

It looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

I slowly backed away from the shelf…

Only to bump into Jake.

When I turned around, I noticed a thin beam of light shining through a crack.

A door.

The light was probably coming from the hole the chest had made.

I grabbed Jacob by the arm.

He protested, but followed anyway.

Slowly…

I pushed the door open.

Soft daylight spilled into the room.

The chest—

Or what was left of it—

Lay shattered across the floor, surrounded by broken glass.

I watched Jacob pull away from me and drop to his knees amid the mess, gathering up old scraps of paper…

Only then did I realize they were old photographs.

I knelt beside him to get a better look.

They were incredibly strange.

Obviously staged…

Fake…

Then—

A noise echoed from upstairs.

I immediately crouched beside Jake, trying to hide.

The sounds continued.

Footsteps.

Or maybe…

Several sets of footsteps.

A layer of plaster drifted down from the ceiling like dirty snow.

We slowly backed away.

Without thinking, I wrapped an arm around Jacob, afraid he’d get hurt.

Then we heard voices…

People whispering.

I looked up.

Jake did the same.

Several children were peering down through the hole in the floor.

One of them—a girl—was staring directly at us.

She held a light in her hand…

I couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it looked like a glowing ball of fire.

“Abe… is that you?”

The girl asked.

I looked over at Jacob.

He was completely frozen.

When I looked back up…

She was gone.

“Wait! I’m Jacob Portman! Abe’s grandson!”

Jake shouted as soon as he realized the children were running away, their footsteps echoing across the floor above.

He sprang to his feet and took off after them.

I didn’t even have time to process what had just happened.

I simply ran after him.

We raced through the house.

Jacob kept shouting for the children to wait, trying to tell them we weren’t going to hurt them.

Before I knew it, I was chasing my best friend through thick woods and deep mud.

We reached the marsh, our feet sinking into the bog with every step.

For a moment, I considered giving up and turning back.

But when I saw Jake still chasing after the girl…

I kept following him.

“Hey! Special Ed, wait!”

I shouted, hoping some common sense would finally return to that thick skull of his.

He ignored every warning I yelled, continuing to follow the girl’s tracks.

Eventually we reached a narrow little cave.

We stepped inside…

And ventured deeper.

When Jacob finally stopped, he must have realized how insane this whole thing was.

He turned around, and we made our way back the way we’d come.

As soon as we reached the trail again, Jake looked at me with wide eyes.

“Dude… I think I’m hallucinating…”

“If you’re hallucinating… Then I must be losing my mind too.”

I answered, thoroughly annoyed.

Ever since we got to Cairnholm, Jacob Portman had dragged me into a supposedly haunted house, convinced me to explore it, led me chasing a bunch of mysterious children through a swamp…

And now he was saying this was the moment he thought he was going crazy.

If that idiot wasn’t my best friend…

The boat rocked back and forth, and Jake was obviously seasick (I knew him well enough to notice things like that). He stood near the edge of the ferry, staring out at the sea and trying not to throw up.

I walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“You look like you’re about to die.”

I said with a laugh.

He looked at me, slightly annoyed, and brushed my hand off his shoulder.

“Quit bothering me. We’re almost there, and this stupid boat won’t stop rocking. I think I’m about to puke…”

Jacob said irritably, finally looking at me instead of the water. His gaze then drifted toward his father, who was standing a few yards away… before returning to me.

After a while, we finally drew close to the island.

Wrapped in a blanket of fog stood the rocky landmass before us, its peak hidden beneath thick clouds. It looked peaceful, yet strangely morbid—for a place Abe Portman, according to Jacob, had always spoken about so happily before his death…

I doubted Miss Peregrine was even still alive. And if she was, I doubted she was still here instead of living in some nursing home.

Soon we were standing on the dock, burdened with heavy suitcases.

Jake carried the hope of finding an elderly woman who might not even be alive.

His father had the strange desire to write about birds.

And I…

I had absolutely no idea why I was there.

The harbor was crowded with fishing boats tied to the docks. People stared at us suspiciously…

And I stared right back with an even meaner glare.

I doubted those people had ever seen a punk before, so I was probably their first.

Great.

I was already the island’s weirdo.

We walked for quite a while, dragging those suitcases that felt more like they were filled with rocks than clothes, until we reached an old church that Jacob assumed was where we’d be staying, since the place his father had booked was called Priest’s Hole…

We were quickly disappointed to discover it wasn’t a church converted into an inn, but a church turned into a museum instead.

There wasn’t a soul inside. The place felt dull and lifeless, so I understood why it was empty. Who would actually want to learn about the history of a tiny old fishing island?

Anyway, we stepped into a room where a man sat behind a desk, presumably the museum’s curator.

“Excuse me, but is this Priest’s Hole?”

Jake’s father asked.

The curator immediately stood up, looked us over from head to toe—especially me—and laughed.

“Ah! You must be tourists. No, no, this is just the museum!”

Jacob and I exchanged disappointed glances before his father asked for directions to the correct place, which the curator was more than happy to give us.

We left the museum and retraced our steps until we reached a statue.

It was of a young woman with her arms stretched toward the sea…

As though she were waiting for something.

But her outstretched arms also pointed directly toward a building that could only be, at last…

Priest’s Hole.

We stepped inside and were immediately greeted by an old pub…

A fair number of drunks sat scattered around the tables, each one lost in their own little world of intoxication.

From behind the bar, a man came over to us. He introduced himself and gave us a tour of the place…

It was small, smelled of mildew and alcohol, but it was also the island’s only inn and restaurant, so we didn’t have much of a choice.

After leaving our suitcases in our rooms, Jacob was already eager to explore the island—and, of course, he wanted me to come with him.

His father, however, forbade us from wandering off on our own.

So we settled on heading to the nearest business—anywhere except the pub (Jake didn’t trust the drunks there)—which happened to be a fish market.

The place smelled awful.

I hated fish, so I liked them even less when I had to watch them being decapitated.

Behind the counter stood a large man holding a cleaver, chopping the heads off fish, which promptly dropped into a bucket.

“Um… excuse me… do you happen to know anyone who could take us to the old orphanage?”

Jacob asked nervously.

I immediately rested a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, which, for some reason, only made the man glare at us even harder.

“Hmph. Dylan! Get over here. You’re gonna help these two… and bring them some rubber boots.”

He shouted to a boy who was only a few feet away, organizing a freezer full of headless fish.

“What do we need the boots for?”

I asked, confused.

“You know where you’re headed? It’s all the way across the island, and it’s nothing but mud over there.”

Dylan said, looking at us while holding the boots.

Right.

The people on this island seemed to hate us more by the minute.

Soon, we were following Dylan along the dirt road…

Until he stopped after spotting another boy, who greeted him by calling him Worm.

The two of them proceeded to perform what felt like an endless series of handshakes…

They chatted for a while and even made up a terrible freestyle rap on the spot.

“Are you two going to take us to the orphanage or not?”

I asked, with no patience for their games.

The two boys looked at each other as though I’d just said something completely insane.

“Wait… you’re serious?”

Dylan asked.

“Of course we are! It’s the whole reason we’re here!”

Jacob stressed, already growing visibly frustrated.

One of the boys sighed but nodded, and we started walking again.

The trail gradually disappeared until we found ourselves on a path that looked as though no one had set foot on it in centuries.

A thick fog rolled in around us, and we lost sight of the two Welsh boys.

Instinctively, I grabbed Jacob’s hand so I wouldn’t lose him too.

Moments later, the fog thinned, and the boys seemed to materialize right in front of us.

They were staring at us with strange expressions.

That’s when I realized my fingers were still intertwined with Jake’s.

I quickly let go and took a small step away.

We found ourselves standing in a pasture filled with sheep.

Off to one side stood an old wooden structure that looked completely untouched.

“Is this it?”

Jacob asked the boys, who answered with smug little nods.

I watched my friend walk up to the door and knock.

It swung open.

Jake stepped inside…

Then immediately let out a yell, followed by a disgusted groan.

From what I could tell, it wasn’t the orphanage at all.

It was a sheep barn.

Filled with manure.

I turned toward the Welsh boys with a furious glare.

They only laughed harder.

“Dude! What the hell is wrong with you guys?!”

“Oh… you were actually serious?!”

Worm looked at us in disbelief.

I looked back at Jacob.

He seemed disappointed…

But just as irritated as I was.

“Of course we were! Why would I joke about something like this?!”

“If you really want to go there… just follow the trail into the woods.”

One of them said, his expression suddenly turning serious.

“You were supposed to take us there!”

I practically shouted at them, but they only seemed amused.

“We only come this far.”

With that, they turned and walked back into the fog…

Jake watched them until they disappeared.

“You giving up now?”

I asked.

He looked at me thoughtfully.

“No… Let’s go.”

We kept walking until we reached a dense patch of overgrown brush, which we pushed through with some difficulty.

The moment we made it to the other side, we saw a house that looked as though it had been left to rot…

Nature had reclaimed nearly every inch of it, yet somehow the old building still struggled to remain standing.

A tightness settled in my chest.

There was no way anyone—regardless of their age—could still be living there…

But when I turned to say something to Jacob, he was already making his way toward the orphanage.

I hurried after him.

Together, we examined the front door.

Jake knocked once…

Nothing.

He knocked again…

Still nothing.

Just when I thought he was finally going to give up, he circled around the house toward the backyard…

Which turned out to be even more disappointing.

When I looked at him again, his face was filled with disappointment…

It all began on the night my best (and only) friend, Jacob, lost his grandfather.It was an ordinary night. I was just giving Jake a ride to his grandfather’s neighborhood…

Then we realized how eerily quiet the house was. Papers were scattered across the floor, chairs had been knocked over. The worst part came when my friend noticed that the wire gate leading to the backyard had been torn open. That’s when we saw a trail leading into the woods surrounding the neighborhood.

Jacob said he was going to follow the trail, and I immediately decided to grab a gun from my old car.

By the time I finally reached the scene, Jake was on the ground, holding the old man in his arms… Dead.

Suddenly, Jake screamed and pointed the flashlight he had found in the grass toward a corner of the woods. I immediately opened fire at the spot he was pointing to. There was nothing there…

The following months went by with my friend constantly seeing psychologists and psychiatrists… until he settled with Dr. Golan, a weird and annoying psychiatrist, according to Jake. He complained about those sessions day and night.

Then one day… We were just sitting on the roof of Jacob’s house, talking. The problem was that I didn’t believe him when he said he’d seen a monster that night. We ended up arguing, and he screamed at me to get out of his house.

We didn’t see each other for months, until his parents invited me to his sixteenth birthday party…

It was incredibly awkward seeing Jake again after everything that had happened.

I wanted to believe him. I really did. But… it was impossible.

I mean, the guy was talking about monsters with tentacles instead of tongues. He was definitely losing his mind.

During the party, I watched Jacob get pulled aside by one of his relatives—probably another uncomfortable conversation.

Then… He walked over to me. Oh no… Time to talk.

“Ricky…”

“Don’t even start, please… I’m only here because your parents practically begged me.”

“Dude, just hear me out, please…”

“Fine. You’re going to talk about monsters again?”

“No… I don’t even believe that anymore. I just want to apologize.”

He said it in such a disappointed tone… That hurt. Man, I hated that idiot… Well, not really.

I stayed silent.

“I’m sorry. I never should’ve talked about your mom… or kicked you out.”

“Dude… it’s okay. I can’t stay mad forever, right?”

I said with a smile, holding out my hand. He smiled too and shook it.

It felt good to have a friend again.

A few minutes later, Jake’s mom announced that it was time to open the presents, which meant Jake had to unwrap them in front of everyone… Something that would be extremely embarrassing. For him.

After opening a few gifts, Jacob forced a smile, pretending he liked what he’d received…

Then his Aunt Susan announced her own gift…

Something Grandpa Abraham had left for him.

That only made everything worse, since nobody had mentioned his grandfather in months.

Jake opened the present, but immediately ran upstairs to his room, where he stayed for the rest of the night.

A few weeks passed before I heard from Jake again. And apparently, he’d come up with the insane idea of traveling to Wales for some reason I didn’t fully understand.

From what I could gather, he was looking for the headmistress of an old orphanage. And he wanted ME to go with him?!

He had seriously lost it. But there wasn’t much I could do.

A few months later, there I was…