"Kayla! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" my brother yelled at me from the bottom of the stairs.

        "I'm coming! Give me a minute!" I was going around my room packing everything that I couldn't live without: my sketchbook, some pencils and my vintage Canon TL QL camera. I made sure that the pocket watch Grandpa gave me was tucked securely in my jacket before double checking my luggage. I knew that I wouldn't be coming back home.

        I knew about loops and peculiars. To be specific, I knew everything about Miss Peregrine's loop. I used to absorb every bit of information that grandpa told Jake and I in his stories. After Jake lost interest in peculiardom, grandpa Abe started teaching me about the world of syndrigati, even more so when we discovered that I'm an ymbryne. In fact, I'm the youngest transformed ymbryne known, having transformed a few years ago at the tender age of 15.

        I was alone outside, looking for a place to quietly sketch. I decided to climb our apple tree in an attempt to separate myself and find some inspiration. I was sketching for a while when Grandpa decided to come check on me. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that he accidentally scared me and I fell out of the tree. Out of instinct, I flipped out and thought about flying high into the clouds. It was a miracle that I didn't fall. I felt my body transform into a bird and I landed gracefully on my grandfather's shoulder.

        "You did it maluszek! You found your peculiarity!" he exclaimed.

        "What is it grandpa?" I asked after I returned to my human form.

        "Why, you're an ymbryne, and the youngest one too!"

        "Cool! Am I like Miss Peregrine now?"

        "Not yet Kayla, you need to train first."

        "How will I be able to train? Mom and Dad already hate it when we spend time together," I pointed out.

        "Come over after school . I can teach you all I know about our kind."

        "Thanks Grandpa!"

        "I'm here!" I panted out as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

        "Good. Jake and I were starting to think you didn't want to go, dad informed me, looking at his watch, "Let's go before we're late and miss the plane and ferry ride."

                                                                                 ∽✱∽∽✱∽

         We were on the riding on the ferry towards Cairnholm when a peregrine falcon swooped out towards our boat. The bird started squawking as it circled above us. Dad looked up and with excitement and exclaimed, "Oh wow! Jake! Do you see that? It's a peregrine falcon! I wonder what it's doing so far out."

        Jake looked up and stared at the bird. Suddenly, he yelled "Hey! Miss Peregrine! It's us, Jake and Kayla. We're Abe Portman's grandchildren. Please don't crap on us!"

        Dad just stared at Jacob causing him to ask what was wrong. In return, dad just rolled his eyes and said, "Hey, that's probably where your grandpa came up with the whole bird thing."

        I mentally rolled my eyes at their conversation. Even though Jake jokingly yelled at the bird, he couldn't have been more right. Even if he didn't know it was the Headmistress, he could have been at least a little more polite. It definitely was Miss Peregrine as no normal falcon would willingly come this close to a boat. There's also the fact that she was talking in the Olde Ymbryne language.

        "Maybe that's really her.", Jake said to himself. Yes Jacob you imbecile, it really is her.

        The ferry ride passed in silence after that. The only sounds were the waves crashing along the rocky shores and the occasional bird calling out in the distance. By the time we arrived on shore, it was about late afternoon. The rocks glowed faintly under the smoldering gaze of the sun. The island itself wasn't that special. It was filled with white houses with shingles curling from the salt residue in the air. The three of us walked at a slow pace, taking in the place that we would be living in for the next week. I could tell that the town used to be quite pretty but the residents must have given up taking care of it sometime after the war. It could be from the lack of money after the Great Depression or from the grief that lingered after the tragic war itself.

        We finally arrived at the Priest's Hole, a disgusting little pub in the center of the town. The wood paneling was falling off, one of the front windows was broken and a lingering smell of rot filled the air.

        "Hello? Hello? Is anybody home?" Dad called out once we reached the front desk. "Hey! Any idea on where I'd find the manager of this place?" dad asked the man who just walked in from the back door.

        "Yes, that's me. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was helping my uncle Oggie to the loo. I'm Kev," he said. Kev stuck his hand out to dad, who just looked down at it as if it was the grossest thing he's ever seen. Honestly, where did he learn his manners from? Kev quickly put his hand down and pointed towards a set of stairs on the left. "There's room upstairs, I'll be back in a bit."

        "Great, Kev is just getting our suit ready," dad said as he turned to face us. "While we were waiting, I thought we could go check out the beach."

        "But I thought Jake and I could go explore the island," I asked. This would be the perfect opportunity for me to slip away into the loop.

        "Is the beach where the bird nests are?" Jake inquired, glancing at me quickly.

        "Yeah, I thought we can go check them out real quick."

        "What if we go explore by ourselves? You can take your time at the beach. Kayla and I can take care of ourselves." I really hoped whatever Jake's plan was, worked. It would be easier to ditch him someplace on the other side of the island than to ditch both of them while we were on the beach."

        "Come on guys, you know your mother would freak. How 'bout I find someone to take you?" Without waiting for our responses, he turned around and strode over to a group of local teenagers. "Hey dudes!" He said, trying to catch their attention.

        "DAD!" Jake and I shouted. This was a bad idea. I regret even asking to leave, I should've just left by myself.

        "I got this. Hey fellas, I was just wondering if any of you are interested in taking my children to the other side of the island." When he saw that they weren't moving, he pulled out a twenty pound note. Two of the boys stepped forward and pocketed the cash.

        The two teenagers brought us along a dirt path that went across the island. They kept glancing at each other and it was pretty obvious that they were only helping us for the money.

        "And what are your names?" Jake asked them awkwardly.

        "I am Worm and this is M.C. Dirty D."

        "No! My name is M.C. Dirty Business."

        "I thought we changed that!"

        "NO!"

         "No? Remember when Lou said Dirty Business sounded like cracked trousers?"

        "Yeah, but she said it sounded like a hygiene problem."

        "Are these nicknames or something?" Even if I didn't want to interrupt their comedic bickering, I had to to sate my own curiosity.

         "They're stage names. We're the sickest rapping duo in all of Wales. Come on Worm, let's show them how it's done."

        "What now?!" Worm did not look like he wanted to rap in front of us at all.

        "Yes now."

        "Ugh fine... I like to get wrecked uptown at the Priest Hole,"

        "Your dad's always there cause he's on the dole,"

        "All my rhymes are tight, yeah I make it look easy,"

        "All my beats are hot like chicken jalfrezi."

        "Oh... it's uh... good. Are you absolutely sure this is the way to the Children's Home?" Jake asked the pair. They brought us to this large bog. This was definitely NOT the way grandpa Abe told me how to get to the Home.

        "Yeah, it's right through those trees." Worm pointed across the bog. Both of the boys were trying hard not to laugh. They both turned around to go back to join their group in the village.

        I realized that the version of the Home that the two wannabe rappers were taking us to was the bombed house. Of course, they didn't know that the children were all still alive and stuck in a continuous loop. I was going to tell Jake that the Home wasn't the one he was looking for but I stopped when I saw the determined look on his face.

         He walked carelessly through the bog and only stopped when his foot got stuck in mud. He attempted to pull it out but when his foot resurfaced, all that was left on it was a muddy sock. His sneaker was nowhere to be seen.

        "Come on Jake. Let's go back to the pub. We can try again tomorrow." I called out to him. I had no plans on returning to the pub. As we passed a group of trees, I slipped away from my brother and made my way to the beach.