A few days later, Jake found himself in a tree. “He’s got to be around here somewhere,” a voice said as it came through into the clearing where Jake was. He looked down and saw Enoch holding one of his creatures, the creature pausing in the clearing. Behind him, Olive stood with no protection but her fists. Jake scrunched his eyebrows as to why they didn’t have any weapons.
“But if he’s not?” Olive asked.
“Then my name isn’t Enoch,” he said. Olive rolled her eyes and flung herself onto the boulder at the base of the tree Jake was squatting in. “You look mighty intrigued in this hunt, Olive,” Enoch said sarcastically.
“It’s just, Jake doesn’t like to be found, and if he wants to be found, he will be found.” she said. “We haven’t found him yet.” she stated.
“Olive, it’s been three days. No one has seen him or heard from him in three days.” Jake shook his head. It’s been three days? No wonder they were looking for him. “Now, this thing says he’s around here somewhere, just keep looking.” Enoch said, scanning the clearing. “Jake!” he shouted. “Jake, can you hear me? It’s time to come back Jake!” he said. He paused and waited for a response, but Jake stayed quiet. Enoch came and sat on the rock with Olive.
Olive raised an eyebrow at him and said, “You look mighty intrigued in this hunt, Enoch,” she lowered her voice and said it with a funny accent, teasing Enoch for what he said to her earlier.
“Shut it,” he said. “Sorry, that sounded harsh.”
She shrugged. “Alright, let’s try a different tactic.” she raised her voice so it carried, then shouted, “Jacob Magellan Portman, you get over here right now!” she yelled. Jake raised an eyebrow at her, but decided to come down anyway. He landed on the rock they were sitting on, and they both yelled and jumped up. Enoch regained his senses the quickest and glared at Jake, hard. Jake swallowed the laughter that was rising in his throat.
“Jacob!” Enoch yelled. Jake flinched. Enoch never used his real name unless he was really mad. “You-you, ugh!” he sighed. “Of all the words in this rotten language we call English there isn’t a single one that describes how angry I am at you!” Enoch yelled. “You know how long you’ve been gone?! Three days! Three days! You know, it was my idea to come out here and look for you? Everyone else thought me crazy because they all think you’re dead! They’re expecting your dead body when we come back!” he yelled. Jake swallowed again, tears stinging his eyes slightly. Enoch saw Jake’s eyes gloss over and softened his tone. “Jake, I’m not mad at you- well, yes I am- I just want you to know that disappearing for three days is not okay, no matter what you are going through.” Enoch said. Jake nodded, not trusting his voice.
Olive finally recovered and hugged Jake. “Thank goodness you're safe!” she said. Jake hugged her back. “By the way, I would get ready for the yelling that is going to occur when Miss Peregrine realizes you’re alive.” she said, not a single drop of laughter in her voice. Jake nodded. He had once stayed out for the night, that night when Emma got the whole house looking for him, his stomach twisted at the memory, and Miss Peregrine had chewed him out, yelling at him for his irresponsibleness, his stupidity, and for causing nightmares beyond belief for her.
Enoch led the group while Olive stayed behind him with Jake. After spending a few days in the forest, he imagined he looked hideous. He hadn’t shaved in a while, his hair was probably laced with leaves and twigs, and since he hadn’t eaten in three days, he imagined he was swaying slightly. He reached up and scratched his cheek, the hollow of it enlarged. He rubbed his eyes and felt the same thing. They felt like pits. 
A red blur from the window facing them told them someone inside had seen them. Jake stumbled into the front door after Enoch and ran right into him. Jake shook his head and looked up, wondering why Enoch had stopped. Surrounding them, creating a half arc, was everyone in the house. They all stared at him, and he felt each grain of dirt on him. He ran his fingers through his hair and saw a twig clatter to the ground. So he did have twigs and leaves in his hair. 
“Hello,” Jake said. He walked forward and everyone parted for him. He thought he was in the clear, so he ducked his head and started walking forward, but then he ran into another person. He looked up and saw the glowering face of Miss Peregrine. “Let me guess, your office, now,” Jake said. Miss Peregrine just kept staring at him, and Jake sighed, turning to go down the hallway leading to her office. He sat down in the chair across from her desk. Miss Peregrine walked in and closed the door, the bolt sliding into place. She rested her head against the door and sighed.
Jake was confused. Normally, by now, his head would have been blown off with her words. “Jake,” she said. She sounded tired. “You hungry?” she asked, standing up straight from the door, walking around to her desk and pushing a bowl of candies closer to him. Jake looked down at them and felt the hollows of his cheeks seemingly expand. He grabbed one candy and popped it into his mouth.
Miss Peregrine grabbed a candy as well, but she didn’t open it. She instead studied the wrapper, rolling the edges in her fingers. Her eyes flicked back to Jake. Jake stared back, sucking on the candy in his mouth. “Jake, do you know how long you’ve been gone?”
“Three days so I’ve been told,” he said carefully around the candy in his mouth. Miss Peregrine nodded, putting the candy she was playing with back in the bowl. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Jake, you know better,” she said tiredly. She sounded more tired then angry. Jake cringed inwardly. Somehow, her tired voice sounded worse than her yelling at him. “Just- don’t let there be a next time with this.” she said. Jake stared at her confused.
“What?” he asked. She sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Go on, yell at me, exact vengeance on me.” he said, not liking how calm she was about all of this.
“No, Jake, I’m not going to yell at you.” she stated. “Go clean yourself up, alright? Then I’ll make sure there is a nice big meal waiting for you downstairs when you’re done.” Jake stood up, his tired brain furious with Miss Peregrine’s tired act.
“Why not? It’ll make you feel better, won’t it?” he said, his voice raising. “Everyone seems to be yelling at me these days. Why don’t you just add your name to the list?” he yelled at her. He faltered as he remembered Enoch calling him by his real name. 
“Go, please,” Miss Peregrine pleaded softly. Jake’s anger crumbled at her voice. It sounded so tired, he would be surprised if she had gotten any sleep in the past few days. Jake’s anger returned though when she looked up at him. He balled his fists and stomped out of the room. He ripped the door open and someone outside jumped down the hallway, walking faster. 
He scowled at their back and followed after he heard a door opening and closing. He walked into his room. Someone had cleaned up the mess he had made the day Emma had died. His door was still warped where his fist had hit, and the wall was still dented from when he threw his chair at it, but other than that someone had cleaned up everything and gotten him a new chair. Jake clumsily sat down in the chair, pulling out his mirror that he kept in his desk, and propped it against some books. He ruffled his hair, twigs and leaves flying everywhere.
He sniffed and realized he stunk and decided to spray on some cologne, then walk downstairs. He sat down and started eating whatever food was set down in front of him, not even caring what he ate. After about an hour, he sluggishly went back upstairs, wanting sleep to take him. He walked past Enoch’s room and heard something crash. “Enoch!” Olive yelled angrily. “Put that back up!” Jake’s eyebrow arched in curiosity, and he paused outside the door.
“Listen, please, stop yelling.” Enoch said. Jake could almost imagine the angry face of Olive. “I’m sorry, I’m just not feeling the feelings I did before.” he said. 
“Really? You don’t say.” she said sarcastically. “You’ve been spending all your time in your creepy basement room, you barely seem to look at me, and ever since Emma died and Jake moved here, you’ve been withdrawn and spending all your time with him.” She took a deep breath, and Horace along with a few other people joined Jake outside the door.
“Olive-” Enoch began.
“No! You know what, I’m done!” she yelled. Jake bolted down the hallway and Horace bolted the other way, the rest of the kids splitting and either following Jake or Horace.
Olive stormed out of the door, Jake peeking around the door he had flown into. Olive flew down the hallway to her room and slammed the door. Enoch stood in his doorway. He sighed and closed the door. “Mind telling me what happened?” Fiona asked. She was sitting on her bed, a book of plants opened in front of her, and she looked up as Jake ran into her room, closing the door. Jake looked at her.
“Telling you what happened when?” Jake asked. Fiona pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Why you Usain bolted in here with three kids tailing you.” she said, gesturing towards the kids that followed Jake.
“Oh, uh, Enoch and Olive-” Jake slid his hand across his throat. Fiona mouthed a silent “Oh”.
“And you guys bolted in here when they stormed out, right?” she asked. Jake and the three kids nodded. Fiona rolled her eyes and went back to her book.
Jake shooed the other kids away, then went into Enoch’s room alone. Enoch was sitting on the edge of his bed, palms pressed against his eyes. When he heard the door click open, he bolted upright and rubbed his eyes, blinking a couple of times. 
“Hey,” he said, trying to keep his voice neutral. Jake nodded a hello and sat down on the bed next to him. “What’s up?” he asked. Jake shrugged. “I’m guessing you heard what happened?” Enoch asked reluctantly after Jake didn’t speak.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. Enoch didn’t respond. He looked up at Jake’s face and his eyes softened.
“You need to get some sleep, and eat some food. Have you eaten today?” Jake smiled slightly. Enoch’s way of coping was to forget about it and think of others' needs, so Jake allowed him to coddle him slightly.
“Yeah, I had food downstairs.” Jake said.
“Have you slept?” he asked. Jake shook his head. “You should sleep.” Enoch said.
“Okay,” Jake said, trying to keep the smile out of his voice. Enoch said goodnight as Jake left, and Jake realized he was extremely tired. He walked to his room and collapsed on his bed.
“Jake,” Jake scrunched his eyebrows. “Jake.” Someone nudged his shoulder and he mumbled “Go away”. The person laughed. “No, you need to eat. Come on, dinner time.” he opened his eyes and saw Fiona’s face smiling down at him.
“Okay, I’ll be down in a few.” he said, closing his eyes again.
“I don’t trust you.” she said jokingly. Jake smiled and sat up. “Alright, fine, but if you’re not down there by the time everyone else is, I will personally ask Bronwyn to drag you downstairs.” Jake smiled and nodded, flopping back on his pillow.
Dinner was quiet. So much had happened that no one who understood what was going on wanted to speak. Hushed whispers did occur though, and most tried to stay away from the topic of death or romance, which was fine with Jake. Jake sat through dinner, picking at his food. He hadn’t cried in a few days, and it seemed like he couldn’t anymore. About halfway through dinner, Jake picked up his plate and snuck away to the kitchen. There he made a plate for Enoch, stealing cookies off of the pile recently baked by Olive and Miss Peregrine. Jake grabbed his plate and Enoch’s, then left upstairs.
Once upstairs, he knocked on Enoch’s door with his elbow. He awkwardly shifted Enoch’s plate between his fingers, careful not to have the hot plate touch his bandaged palm. Enoch opened the door and his eyes flew to the plate in Jake’s injured hand. Enoch, coping in his own way, immediately took the plate and led Jake inside, asking if his hand was okay. Jake nodded and sat down on Enoch’s windowsill, digging into his plate. Enoch sat on the opposite side of the frame, and together they stared out the window, the only sounds coming from their forks scratching their plates.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Enoch asked after they had sat in silence for a while.
Jake smiled. “Well, a wise man once told me, ‘I know what it’s like to just want someone to sit with me, even if they don’t say anything.’” Jake said. Enoch rolled his eyes.
“Don’t use my own words against me.” he said teasingly. Jake smiled teasingly at him, and the laughter creasing Enoch’s eyes made him smile more.
They chatted until Fiona came upstairs complaining about how she needed to do the dishes but couldn’t because two plates and some silverware were missing. They gave her the dishes and she rolled her eyes, mumbling something about how she wasn’t a servant. She left, closing the door behind her, and they went back to talking.
Conversation wore off as the night drew on, yet neither felt tired. They stared at the stars as they slowly moved over their heads, the moon arching. Jake stared at a cloud as it drifted across the moon. “That looks cool,” he said. “Like a scary movie.” he gestured at the moon, then looked at Enoch. Enoch was slumped, his head lolling to the side. A light snore escaped him, and Jake smiled slightly. Jake looked back up as the cloud passed, the moon’s light enveloping him once again. He never enjoyed the moonlight before, always felt like it chilled him whenever he was surrounded by it, yet tonight it felt different. It felt almost welcoming, like the sun was before Emma-before she died. Jake forced himself to think about it. He needed to come to terms with it and realize that she was gone. The sadness wallowed in him yet again, but this time it felt almost warm, the sluggish feeling it gave him welcoming as he lost himself in it’s folds. Vaguely, he was reminded of an old saying his grandfather used to say, “Broken people are the most dangerous, they know how to make hell feel like home.” Jake nodded off, the stars above him piercing into his dreams.
Jake ran along a path in the forest. He didn’t know where it led, all he knew was that he had to get out. His thoughts scrambled as a root reached up and tripped him. He went down screaming. He sat up, his feet slipping in the mud as he tried to run away from what was chasing him. He looked back and each time the thing changed. Sometimes it would be a Hollow chasing him, other times his own face. He looked back again and saw Emma’s face scowling at him.
“It’s your fault!” she yelled, her voice echoing in his head. He yelled as he fell once again, mud splattering his face and dragging his feet down. He looked down and saw his knees sinking into the mud, his feet gone. His hands started sinking too, his face a few feet away from the ground as he stood on all fours. He frantically looked to his left for anything that could help him move, then right. He yelped as his grandfather’s dead, hole like face with bloody tears jumped into his view, only inches from his face. He looked to his left and saw Emma, also staring back at him. He looked ahead, the only direction he could look. Ahead of him he saw his own face, scowling back at him.
“Weak… pathetic… selfish… you don’t deserve the love these people gave you. The only thing you deserve is to rot in a grave! You should have left these people! Let them live! You even existing in their lives killed them! You killed them! You did this to them!” Emma’s face mixed with his grandfather’s face in his eyesight.
“No!” Jake yelled. “I-I didn’t kill them!”
The Jake in front of him smiled an evil smile, as if he didn’t believe Jake. “Really? Then who did?” Jake didn’t have an answer. He felt tears rolling down his cheek and saw himself laugh at him. The Hollow/creature that chased him to that muddy spot crashed through the trees. Now it stayed a Hollow. It lurched upright and yelled an unearthly screech that made Jake’s skull pound and his hair stand on end.
It ran toward him, and Jake closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact.
“Jake!” Enoch exclaimed as Jake sat upright. He looked around, not remembering where he was. He saw Enoch's nightstand and his bed, then his window, then the woods beyond. For once Jake didn’t feel like running towards them. Enoch’s face swam into view.
Jake took a deep breath and said, “How much did I say out loud?”
“You just kept saying ‘No’ over and over. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” Jake said.
“It’s just-you were writhing on the ground as if you were stuck. And you seemed to be in pain. Are you sure you’re alright?” Jake nodded.
“Sorry, just been having really bad dreams ever since-” Jake paused. When had the nightmares started? Since his Grandfather died? Or before that? “Since I don’t know when to be honest.” Enoch stared at Jake, a guarded look on his face.
Jake stood up shakily, and Enoch brushed his hand against his elbow, steadying Jake. “I’m fine,” Jake said. He looked outside and saw sunshine. He glanced at the clock in the corner of the room and looked at the hands. “Your clock is still 5 minutes behind right? Well, judging by that time, I will see you down at breakfast shortly.” With that, Jake made an unceremonious exit of Enoch’s room, Enoch’s concerned stare piercing his back.
Jake walked into the bathroom and shook his head. Somehow he always ended up in the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. He sat up and looked in the mirror. He jumped as his grandfather’s face drifted by. Jake took a deep breath, splashing more water on his face.
He dried his face with a towel and looked at the sunlight coming through the skylight. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming himself down. He walked downstairs and saw everyone eating breakfast. He sat down next to Enoch because that was the only seat left. Enoch nodded at him and Jake nodded back, a greeting without words. Jake looked down at his oatmeal, which was flavored with apples. Pieces of the apple skin floated to the top, and the red mixed with the red on Emma’s face as it floated through his vision. He shook his head violently, forgetting for a second that anyone else was in the room. Enoch was the only one that noticed though, as Jake was sitting on the end of the table, Enoch to his left. 
“Are you okay?” Enoch asked. Jake nodded, quickly spooning the oatmeal into his mouth, trying not to think of blood or death. Normally, that would have been easy, but for some reason it wasn’t at that moment. Jake swallowed the oatmeal, the hotness of it stinging his throat. His eyes started watering at the heat, and Enoch’s brows furrowed more. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. Jake nodded, trying to smile, though he was pretty sure it looked more like a grimace. Enoch bit his lip, but didn’t question Jake further.
Jake quickly finished his breakfast and cleared his dishes before anyone else could ask him if he was okay. He walked swiftly upstairs to his room, ignoring anything and everything that passed by him. He didn’t look into Emma’s room, he didn’t stop to look at the beautiful view of the city through the window in the hallway, and he didn’t stop not even when he nearly ran into Miss Peregrine. He said good morning and walked off as calmly as he could. Miss Peregrine didn’t question him, and as soon as he turned the corner, he went back to walking quickly. He entered his room and closed the door behind him. He looked around the room and didn’t see anybody. He didn’t expect to see anybody, but the reassurance of seeing nobody helped him calm himself.
He pulled up his desk chair and pushed it over to the window, basking in the sunlight coming through the window. He leaned his head back, feeling his eyelids lower. The few hours of sleep he had gotten last night weren’t enough to energize him after three days of no sleep. He slowly fell asleep, feeling the warmth of the sun around him.

Jake opened his eyes and saw he was in a building. The crease between his eyebrows deepened as he pondered where he was. He walked around the room and tried every door he saw, but all of them were locked. He was trapped. He turned around and stared at the room. A chair was now in the middle of it, and the walls, instead of being cold and gray, almost abandoned looking, they had turned white and gold, the gold accenting the bright white that shone under the intense light of the chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. Jake looked at the chair. It was a plain chair, but he still watched it, waiting for something to happen to it.
“Welcome Jake,” a voice spoke out from in front of the chair. Jake looked to his left, which was in front of the chair, and saw stairs going up to a throne like chair. The chair blended in with the white walls and gold accents. In fact, the legs and body of the chair seemed to be made of the floor, as if it couldn’t move from where it was. Sitting on the chair, looking very out of place in his dark clothing, was the leader boy from the alley that one night long ago.
“Wha-what are you doing here?” Jake asked, shaking his head. “Wow, my dreams are getting out of hand.” Jake mumbled to himself. The leader boy smiled.
“You think-” The leader boy stopped so he could laugh at Jake. “You think this is a dream?” he laughed again. “This is no dream!” he shouted. Jake was confused.
“It is a dream, this isn't real. I’m going to pinch myself now, and I will wake up in my room.” Jake stated. The leader boy gestured at Jake to say “go ahead”, and Jake pinched himself. The pain sent tendrils up his arm. He stared at his arm in shock. “I felt it.” he said. “In dreams you don't feel the pinch unless you wake up halfway through it.” Jake said quietly.
“Wonderful! We have established that this is not a dream!” he said. “Now,” he said, his voice getting more serious. “Sit.” Something fired in Jake’s brain and he felt like he exited his body. He watched as he sat down in a chair behind him, looking up at the leader boy. Jake took a deep breath, blinking a couple of times. The fog that seemed to take over his vision didn’t leave, and he still felt like he was a passenger. The leader boy snapped his fingers and some tension in Jake vanished, the fog going with it. He shook his head, clearing the last bits of the fog.
“Wha-what just happened?” Jake asked.
“Don’t open your mouth.” Jake felt his lips knit together, glued in place. The leader boy smiled. “Much better.” He smiled wickedly at Jake. “Now, you will do what I say when I say it. Easy enough rules to follow.” he said. Jake glared at him. “Stop glaring and nod.” Jake felt his face relax and his head move up and down, his eye contact with the leader boy never breaking.
“There you go.” he smiled and Jake felt his body lean towards the leader boy. “Now, I am going to snap my fingers and you won’t remember any of this. You ready? You ready boy?” he cooed as if he was talking to a dog. “Now, nod for me.” Inwardly Jake glared at the boy. But he still nodded. The leader boy stepped down from his throne-like chair. Jake felt his breath still as the leader boy came closer. The leader boy smiled and sat on Jake, facing him.
Jake scowled at him and the fog left slightly, though his head still felt foggy. The leader boy touched his lips and the fog came roaring back, the room tilting. Jake moved his head to the side. “Look at me.” Jake’s head snapped towards the boy. The leader boy smiled and leaned down, kissing Jake. The fog returned full force, clouding his vision and making the room vanish from his sight. “Now,” he said as he sat back up. “Wake up and go back to sleep. You will not remember this moment until I tell you to remember it. And, if you see a Hollow, do not scream. I want you to be as silent as possible, alright?” Jake’s eyes widened in fear as he watched the leader boy. “Don’t be afraid,” he cooed. Jake felt his heart slam back into a normal rhythm, his breathing returning back to normal. But on the inside he felt like he was suffocating.
The leader boy smiled. “Sweet dreams,” and snapped his fingers.
 
Jake sat up in the chair. He gasped for breath, sweat soaking his clothes. He sat up and thought about his dreams, but when he tried to think about them, all he saw was gray smoke in his vision, as if he couldn’t think about it. He shook his head and focused on his surroundings. Outside the sun was setting. He looked at his desk and saw a plate with a sandwich on it, a note saying For when you wake up. Jake smiled and thanked whoever had delivered the sandwich, then bit down on it. He finished the sandwich and yawned. He still felt tired. 
He yawned and fell asleep again.
He woke up at the sound of his window latch clicking. It was dark out, and his window swung inward, the breeze blowing the curtains slightly. A Hollow's arm reached around the curtain and came inside. Jake opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His arms and legs felt tight, and even though he willed them to move, his body froze. The Hollow snapped its headlike thing towards Jake and seemed to look at him. It slithered over to him and picked him up. Jake remembered the forest, the tightness of the Hollows tentacle then. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end to arrive. Jake then opened his eyes when he realized he wasn’t moving. Jake wriggled his wrist, a small knife falling into his hand, slipping and cutting his hand. He dropped the knife by accident and it clamored to the ground. The Hollow, seemingly startled by the noise, leapt out of his window, holding on to him with it’s tentacle-like tongue. Jake felt the blood drip down his finger. The Hollow ran, taking him deep into the forest and away from Miss Peregrine’s.