Download the house of strange children library of souls. Writer Ransom Riggs: biography, list of books and reader reviews

Whose first books became bestsellers amazingly quickly.

Biography. The beginning of a creative journey

Ransom Riggs is an aspiring author with only a few books to his name. Therefore, his biography is not replete with many interesting facts. Information about the writer is extremely scarce. He is originally from Maryland. The author of the future bestseller about strange children was born on November 26, 1979 in a family of farmers. At the age of 5, Ransom Riggs wanted to work on a farm because he dreamed of driving a tractor.

The family then moved to Florida. They settled in the outback, where there were many farms with elderly people, but few children. There was no Internet in the house, cable television showed only 12 channels, so most of the time young Ransom was left to his own devices. It was then that he began to write his first stories. Then he developed another hobby - making films. For a long time he could not decide which of these favorite activities to choose for his professional activity. Cinema won. Riggs moved to Los Angeles to attend film school at the University of Southern California. He spent a lot of time and money on his passion for cinema, but does not regret it.

On a website dedicated to the writer, he explained what he is currently doing and what he plans to do in the near future.

He now puts writing first. Riggs Ransom, whose books became instant bestsellers, is writing his famous series of novels about the lives of strange children. He also continues to work on non-fiction books about Sherlock Holmes and his methods of solving crimes.

Ransom Riggs did not leave cinema aside. He writes scripts for films and directs short films.

Another hobby of the writer is writing for a blog, where he writes the column “Strange Geography”. Here you can see photographs published by him and read about the travels made by the writer. Many of the places he saw gave him food for writing books, thanks to which Riggs Rensome became so popular.

“The Home for Peculiar Children” - the novel that gave the author fame

This book was born thanks to the author's passion for old photographs. He collected them at flea markets for several years and soon became the owner of an impressive collection of photographs, many of which were eerie. It was his editor who came up with the idea to use them to write a book.

Riggs Ransom, whose Home for Peculiar Children quickly gained popularity, realized the idea with photographs in 2011. Vintage photographs became excellent illustrations for the novel. The success exceeded all expectations - the book became a bestseller.

According to the plot of the novel, Jacob Portman was told by his grandfather more than once about the wonderful time he spent in a boarding house on one of the Welsh islands. His stories were so incredible that the boy took them for fiction. To prove that his stories were true, his grandfather showed Jacob photographs of “strange” children. That's what he called the orphanage's children.

When Jacob turned 16, his grandfather was killed. He was found in the forest near his house with lacerations on his body. Everyone decided that the cause of death was an attack by a wild animal. On the advice of a psychiatrist, concerned about the teenager’s condition, Jacob and his father go to the island where the young man’s grandfather spent his childhood. The boarding school really exists. But the main character finds only its ruins - the house was destroyed by a bomb during the war. As Jacob explored the ruins of the orphanage, he saw the children whose photographs his grandfather had shown him. Trying to catch up with them, the young man falls into a time loop and finds himself in 1940.

"Escape from the Home of Peculiar Children" - continuation of the acclaimed bestseller

In 2014, the second part of the adventures of Jacob and his friends was released. She talks about how children who left their boarding school went to London in search of mentors who were kidnapped by creatures and voids. The children need to find at least one of them so that she can help their teacher Sapsan regain her former appearance. The situation is complicated by the fact that they themselves are wanted, and London, where they are so eager to get to, is subject to intense enemy bombing.

Ransom Riggs "Vault of Souls" - the end of the story of strange children

The second part of the adventures of young Jacob and his friends, trying to find their ymbrynes, ended with the children barely escaping from the trap set by the creatures. Not many managed to escape. Now they must free not only their mentors, but also their friends. They need to hurry as the enemy's strength is growing. Strange children captured by the enemy are in great danger - the creatures have learned to take their souls.

Riggs Ransom presented “The Home for Peculiar Children” (book 3) to his audience of readers in the fall of 2015. It is available for purchase in English-speaking countries. Russian readers can familiarize themselves with the translation of the novel on specialized websites dedicated to books. What else can such an extraordinary writer as Riggs Ransom have enough imagination for?

“The Home for Peculiar Children” (book 3) promises to once again be among the bestsellers. It is not yet known when Russian readers will be able to purchase the new novel.

Screen adaptation of the writer's works

The famous director and animator became one of the ardent fans of Riggs' books. The novel “The Home for Peculiar Children” inspired him to make the film. The film is in the final stages of filming and will be released on December 25, 2016. Jacob Portman will be played by young actor Asa Butterfield, known to viewers from the films “Ender’s Game” and “The Timekeeper.” In the film you can see Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green.

None of Burton's films left the viewer indifferent, so we can hope that the film adaptation of Ransom Riggs' bestseller will be no less exciting than the novel itself.

Ransom Riggs's Library of Souls is the final novel in The Home for Peculiar Children trilogy. He will give answers to all the questions that arose while reading the first and second parts. There are also strange photographs bought by the writer at a flea market, which help create a depressing and dark atmosphere. And although you understand that you are reading a fantastic work, the photographs give a certain realism to the plot, so that you feel goosebumps running down your skin.

After previous adventures, only Jacob and Emma remained free. Although this freedom was not given to them without losses. In addition to their friends being in danger, the boys themselves are injured. Only a strong desire to save their friends gives them the opportunity to gather their strength. Jacob develops new and unusual powers. The main characters are helped by a very smart and talking dog Addison. His wonderful sense of smell helps the guys get on the right track.

Jacob and Emma find themselves in Victorian England and meet Charon. This incomprehensible, mysterious man is ready to go with them into the most dangerous time loop in the entire existence of the strange world. They are heading to a place where laws and rules do not exist, and evil reigns - Devil's Acre. Here you can easily hide any stolen item.

An ancient legend tells about an ancient city in which the Library of Souls of the Great Strange is located. But this city has disappeared, and only the Librarian can find it. Jacob does not even suspect that saving his friends could lead him into a trap prepared by those who are waiting for the Librarian.

In the final part, events quickly follow one another, and new difficulties arise on the path of the heroes. Emma and Jacob will have to face the main enemy, fight terrible creatures and finally find the Library of Souls. The fate of friends and all the strange ones is in their hands, and they will do everything possible to fulfill their mission.

On our website you can download the book “Library of Souls” by Ransom Riggs for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

Translated according to the edition:

Riggs R. Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children: A Novel / Ransom Riggs. – Quirk Books, 2015. – 464 p.

* * *

Dedicated to my mother

The ends of the earth, the depths of the seas,

hopelessness of centuries, you chose everything.

E. M. Forster

Glossary of strange terms

STRANGE - A secret branch of human beings or animals that is blessed - or cursed - with supernatural traits. In ancient times they were revered, but later they began to inspire fear in others and were persecuted. Nowadays, strange people are social outcasts who try not to attract attention to themselves.

A LOOP is a limited area where the same day is repeated endlessly. Loops are created and maintained by ymbrynes as refuges for their strange charges, who are in constant danger in the ordinary world. Loops indefinitely delay the aging process of their inhabitants. But the inhabitants of the loops are by no means immortal. Time spent in the loop represents an ever-accumulating debt that must be paid off by rapid aging if they remain outside the loop for longer than a certain period of time.

YMBRYNES are the matriarchs of the world of strange creatures, capable of changing their physical appearance. They can turn into birds at will, manipulate time, and are entrusted with the protection of strange children. In an ancient language, the word ymbryne (pronounced imm-brinn) means "turn" or "reversal."

HOLLOWS are monstrous, formerly strange creatures that hunger for the souls of their former fellow tribesmen. Their emaciated bodies resemble corpses, but they have muscular jaws that conceal powerful, tentacle-like tongues. They are all the more dangerous because they are invisible to anyone except some strange people. At the moment, only one such living person is known - Jacob Portman. His late grandfather had the same ability. Until recent improvements that expanded their capabilities, hollows could not penetrate hinges. That is why strange people preferred loops as a place of residence.

CREATURES - a void that has absorbed a sufficient number of strange souls turns into a creature that is visible to everyone and is no different from normal people, with the exception of one detail - its pupilless, absolutely white eyes. They are incredibly intelligent, as well as being deft manipulators and skilled in the art of blending into crowds. They are able to spend years infiltrating the society of both normal and strange people. They could be anyone - the corner grocer, the bus driver on your route, your psychoanalyst. The story of their struggle with strange people is a story of murder, horror, kidnapping and other crimes using voids as killers. They see the meaning of their own existence in taking revenge on strange people and taking their world under their complete control.

Chapter first

The monster stood so close that it could easily reach us with its tongue. It did not take its eyes off us, and fantasies about murder swarmed in its shriveled brain. Even the air around him was electrified with the thirst for our death. Hollows are born with a thirst to absorb the souls of strange creatures, and we stood in front of her like a buffet, our backs pressed against a twisted telephone booth. Addison, who could be swallowed in one sitting, stood boldly at my feet with his tail raised menacingly. Emma leaned on my arm for support. She had not yet recovered from the blow and could not have lit a fire brighter than a match. The underground station resembled a nightclub after the bombing. Steam flew out with a squeal from the burst pipes, forming trembling ghostly curtains. Shattered monitors hung from the ceiling. It seemed as if some giant had wrenched their necks. The entire area, including the paths, was littered with broken glass, glittering in the hysterical flashes of red emergency lights like a giant disco ball. We had nowhere to run - there was a wall on one side, a sea of broken glass on the other. And just two steps in front of us was a creature whose only instinct was to tear us apart. And yet it did not move and did not even try to close the distance. The void rocked on its heels, like a drunkard or a somnambulist. She seemed to have grown into the floor. Her head with a mask of death drooped, and a heap of tongues resembled a nest of snakes I had euthanized.

ME: I did it, Jacob Portman from the Florida Keys. At the moment, this horror - the embodiment of nightmares and darkness - was not going to kill us, because I asked him not to do so. I unceremoniously ordered him to remove his tongue from my neck. “Let’s go,” I said. “Out,” I said. I didn't know that the human mouth could produce the sounds of the language in which I said it. And - lo and behold! – it worked. Fury burned in his eyes, but his body obeyed my order. Somehow I tamed this monster - I cast a spell on it. But sleeping creatures wake up, and the spells end. Especially if these spells are cast by accident. I felt the emptiness grow wild under my limp bodily shell.

Addison nuzzled my leg.

“Now other creatures will come here.” Will this monster let us out of here?

“Talk to him again,” Emma asked in a trembling and breaking voice. - Tell her to get lost.

I tried to find the right words, but they eluded me.

- I do not know how.

“I knew a minute ago,” Addison reminded. “It seemed to me that you were possessed by a demon.”

A minute ago, these words just rolled off my tongue before I could even understand anything. Now, when I tried to repeat them, it was like catching fish with my bare hands. They slipped away as soon as I could touch them.

Get out! - I shouted.

It sounded English. The void did not move. I tensed, glared into her inky eyes and made another attempt.

Get out of here! Leave us alone!

English again. The Hollow tilted its head like a puzzled dog, but otherwise remained as motionless as a statue.

– Has she left? – Addison asked.

Still no one saw her except me.

“She’s still here,” I replied. – I don’t know what to do with this.

I felt terribly stupid and helpless. Has my gift really disappeared so quickly?

“It’s okay,” Emma intervened. “In any case, it’s useless to explain anything to the void.”

Throwing her hand forward, she tried to light the flame, but it immediately hissed and went out. This seemed to completely weaken her. I hugged her waist tighter, afraid she would fall.

“Save your strength, match,” Addison advised her. “I’m sure they will be useful to us again.”

“If necessary, I will fight her with my bare hands,” Emma said. “The most important thing now is to find the others before it’s too late.”

Rest. It seemed to me that I could still see them disappearing into the depths of the tunnel. Horace's clothes were in complete disarray. Bronwyn, with all her strength, was no match for the creatures' pistols. Enoch was completely stunned by the explosion. Hugh took advantage of the chaos to yank Olivia's heavy shoes off and drag her along with him, barely managing to catch the flying girl's heel. And they all disappeared after they were pushed into the train, crying and frightened, by armed creatures. Our friends disappeared along with the ymbryne, saving whom we almost died. And now the train was carrying them through the bowels of London to a fate worse than death. It’s too late, I thought. It was getting late by the time Kaul's soldiers stormed Miss Wren's icy hideout. It was getting late that evening when we mistook Miss Peregrine's evil brother for our beloved ymbryne. But I swore to myself that we would find our friends and our ymbryne, no matter what the cost, even if we only found their bodies, even if it meant paying with our own lives.

So, I thought: somewhere in this flickering darkness there is an exit to the street. The door, the stairs, the escalator, it was all somewhere on the far wall. But how to get there?

Get the hell out of my way! – I yelled, making another desperate attempt.

Naturally, English again. The void mooed like a cow, but did not move. It was all in vain. The words disappeared.

“Plan B,” I told my friends. “Since she doesn’t listen to me, I’ll have to get around her.” Let's hope she stays where she is.

– How exactly are we going to get around it? – Emma asked.

To get as far away from the void as possible, it was necessary to wade through mountains of broken glass that would cut Emma's bare legs and Addison's paws. I thought about this problem. I could have picked up the dog, but there was still Emma. I could choose a larger shard of glass and plunge it into the monster's eyes. This technique has already saved me once. But if I had not managed to kill it with the first blow, it would probably have woken up immediately, and then we would have died. The only thing left was to walk along the narrow glass-free passage between the void and the wall. But it was really very narrow - no more than a foot and a half wide. Even with our backs pressed against the marble, we would hardly be able to squeeze through this gap. I feared that such proximity to the void, or worse, accidentally touching it, could break the fragile numbness that kept it from attacking. But other than this last opportunity, all we could do was grow wings and fly over the monster’s head.

-Can you walk? – I asked Emma. – Or at least move your feet?

She straightened up, lowering the hand that was hugging my waist.

- I think I can.

“In that case, here’s what we’ll do—we’ll have to sneak past her.” There's not a lot of space, but if we press our backs to the wall and are careful...

Addison immediately understood me and pressed himself into the phone booth.

– Do you think it’s worth approaching her?

- No I do not think so.

- What if she wakes up when we are...

“He won’t wake up,” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. “Just don’t make any sudden movements and... whatever happens... don’t touch her.”

“Now you are our eyes,” Addison sighed. - May the Bird help us.

I picked up a long, thin piece of glass from the floor and put it in my pocket. Taking two steps towards the wall, we pressed ourselves against the cold marble slabs and began to move towards the void. As we approached, her eyes turned and she continued to watch me intently. Just a few careful steps to the side, and we were enveloped in a wave of stench emanating from the void, so fetid that it even brought tears to my eyes. Addison coughed and Emma pressed her hand to her nose.

“Just a little more,” I said, breaking from desperate tension and feigned calm.

I took a shard of glass out of my pocket and clenched it in my fist, holding it with the sharp end first. I took a step, then another. Now we were so close that, if I reached out my hand, I could touch the monster. I heard his heart beating. With every step we took, this knocking became more frequent and louder.

Don’t move,” I hissed in English. - You are mine. I control you. Do not move.

I sucked in my stomach and pressed all my vertebrae against the wall, crawling sideways into the narrow passage between the wall and the void.

Don't move, don't move.

Sliding my back along the wall, I slowly stepped over. I held my breath, while the wet and hoarse breath of the void quickened and fetid black steam swirled from its nostrils. She was clearly torn by an unbearable desire to devour us. In turn, I could hardly restrain myself from starting to run. I forbade myself to think of this as the behavior of a victim, but not the master of the situation.

Do not move. Do not move.

A few more steps, a few feet, and we would have passed it. Her shoulder was a millimeter from my chest.

And then she began to move. With one swift jerk, the void turned its head and whole body and found itself right in front of me.

I froze.

“Don’t move,” I said out loud this time, turning to my friends. Addison hid his muzzle in his paws, and Emma froze, her icy fingers squeezing my wrist like pincers. I braced myself for the inevitable—her tongues, her teeth, the end.

Back, back, back.

English, English, English.

Seconds passed and, to my amazement, we remained alive. Apart from the rhythmic rise and fall of the chest, the creature did not move, it seemed that it had turned to stone again.

I tried to slide along the wall millimeter by millimeter. The void followed me with its gaze, like a compass needle, slightly turning its head in my direction. It seemed as if her body was connected to mine by some invisible thread. But it did not move after us, did not open its jaws. If the spell I had somehow placed on her had disappeared, we would all be dead in the next second.

The void was just watching me. Waiting for orders that I didn't know how to give.

“False alarm,” I whispered, and Emma exhaled noisily with relief.

We passed the passage, peeled ourselves away from the wall, and walked away as fast as Emma, who was limping, could walk. Moving a little away from the void, I looked back and saw that she had already completely turned around and was facing me.

“Stay still,” I muttered in English. - Well done.

* * *

After passing through the wall of steam, we saw an escalator inactive due to a power failure. There was a faint glow around him, the inviting daylight coming from the world above. The world of the living, the modern world. The world in which I had parents. They were both here in London, they breathed this air. Just a step away.

Hey hello!

Unthinkable. But it was much more difficult to imagine that not even five minutes had passed since I told my father everything. Anyway, the most important thing: I'm just like Grandpa Portman. I am weird. They will never understand anyway, but at least now they know, and my absence will no longer be perceived as a betrayal. My father's voice was still ringing in my ears, begging me to come home, and as we slowly approached the light, I was suddenly overcome with a shameful desire to shake off Emma's hand and run. I wanted to escape from this suffocating darkness, find my parents, beg their forgiveness, and then crawl into the luxurious bed of their hotel room and fall asleep.

And it was the most unimaginable thing. There's no way I could do that. I loved Emma and I told her so, and I would never leave her. And not because I was very noble, brave or generous. I am not a bearer of these qualities. Not at all. But I was afraid that if I left her, my soul would be torn into pieces.

And the rest too. The rest. Our unfortunate doomed friends. We had to find them. But how? The train on which they disappeared into the tunnel was the last. And it is clear that after the explosion and shots that shook the station, the metro will no longer operate. There were only two options left - one more terrible than the other: to go down into the tunnel and follow them on foot, hoping that there would be no voids there, or to climb the escalator and face what awaits us on the surface (most likely, with the liquidation team of the creatures), and, having already assessed the situation, decide what to do.

I knew which option was preferable to me personally. I was fed up with the darkness, and I had certainly had enough of the emptiness.

“Let’s go up,” I said, dragging Emma towards the frozen escalator. “We need to find a safe place where you can recuperate while we make further plans.”

- In no case! - she exclaimed. – My condition doesn’t matter! We just can't leave the rest!

– We don’t abandon them. But we need to be realistic. We are wounded and defenseless, and the others are already very far away. Most likely, they have already left the subway and are being taken to some other place. How can we even find them?

“The same way I found you,” Addison intervened. - With the help of smell. Strange people have a very special smell, you know. But only dogs like me can catch it. And how fragrant your company is! I think it's because of fear. Besides, you haven’t washed for a long time...

- So we are going after them! – Emma stated.

With strength coming from nowhere, she dragged me to the tracks. I resisted, holding her hand.

- No, no... The trains probably don’t run anymore, but if we follow them on foot...

“Whether it’s dangerous or not, I won’t leave them.”

“Emma, this is not only pointless, it’s dangerous.” They've already left.

She pulled her hand away and limped towards the tracks. She stumbled, having difficulty staying on her feet. Well, say something,” I asked Addison with my lips alone. Having caught up with her, he stopped right in front of her.

- I'm afraid he's right. If we walk, the scent of our friends will dissipate long before we can find them. Even my extraordinary abilities have their limits.

Emma looked down the tunnel, then looked at me. The expression on her face was one of martyrdom. I extended my hand to her.

- Please, let's go. This doesn't mean we give up.

“Okay,” she muttered gloomily. - OK.

But before we even had time to take a step back to the escalator, a voice came from the darkness of the tunnel:

The voice was quiet and familiar, with a distinct Russian accent. This was a folding man. Peering into the darkness, I was able to see a body lying to the side of the rails. One hand was raised. During the skirmish he was shot, and I was sure that the creatures had forced him onto the train along with the others. But here he lies below and waves his hand to us.

- Sergey! – Emma exclaimed.

- Do you know him? – Addison asked suspiciously.

“He was one of Miss Wren’s strange refugees,” I explained.

From above came the rapidly increasing howl of sirens. Problems were approaching us - perhaps camouflaged as help. It became clear to me that a little more and we would not be able to escape from here unnoticed. But we couldn’t leave him there.

Addison rushed towards Sergei, avoiding the largest piles of glass. Emma let me take her arm and we slowly followed Addison. The strange one lay on his side, half-buried with shrapnel and smeared with blood. It looks like the injury was serious. His wire-rimmed glasses were cracked, and he constantly adjusted them, trying to get a better look at me.

“This is a miracle, a miracle,” he croaked barely audibly. “I heard you speak the language of monsters.” This is a real miracle.

“This is no miracle,” I answered, kneeling down next to him. – I have already lost this ability. She's gone.

– If the gift is inside, it is forever.

We heard footsteps and voices coming from the direction of the escalator. I shoveled the glass aside to lift the folding man into my arms.

“We’ll take you with us,” I told him.

“Leave me alone,” he wheezed. - I will be gone very soon...

Ignoring his objections, I slipped my arms under his body and stood up. He was as long as a pole, but light as a feather, and I held him in my arms like a big baby. His skinny legs dangled from my elbow, and his head fell limply on my shoulder.

Two strangers roared down the escalator and stopped at its foot, in a circle of pale daylight, peering into the darkness. Emma pointed to the floor and we crouched down carefully, hoping not to be seen. After all, these could have been ordinary passengers waiting to board the train. But then I heard the squeak of a walkie-talkie, and then flashlights flashed in their hands, the rays of which brightly illuminated their reflective jackets.

Perhaps they were rescuers, but they could just as well have been creatures disguised as rescuers. I couldn’t determine this until they completely simultaneously tore off the panoramic sunglasses from their faces.

All clear.

Our chances of salvation have just been cut by exactly half. All that remained were paths and tunnels. We would never have been able to escape from them, but we still had the opportunity to hide. And it seems that in the chaos of the destroyed station we went unnoticed. Flashlight beams searched the floor. Emma and I backed towards the tracks. If only we could slip into the tunnel... But Addison, damn him, didn’t budge.

“Let’s go,” I hissed.

“They are from the ambulance, and this man needs help,” he replied.

It sounded too loud, and the rays immediately rushed in our direction.

- Everyone stay put! - one of the men roared, snatching a pistol from his holster, while the second grabbed the radio.

And then, one after another, two completely unexpected events quickly happened. The first was that, when I was about to throw the folding man onto the rails and jump after him with Emma, a deafening roar was heard from the tunnel and a blinding searchlight beam appeared, rapidly approaching. A stream of musty air rushed into the station, displaced, of course, by the train, which continued to move despite the explosion. The second event was marked by excruciating pain in my stomach. The void had somehow unfrozen and was now rushing towards us in leaps. Just a moment after I felt her, I saw her herself. She ran through the clouds of steam, her black lips opening wide, causing her tongues to wriggle and whistle through the air.

We found ourselves in a trap. If we had rushed to run towards the stairs, we would have been shot and maimed. If we had jumped on the tracks, we would have been carried away by the train. And we couldn't hide on the train because there were still ten seconds left before it stopped and twelve seconds before the doors opened, after which it would be another ten seconds before they closed again. But long before that we would have already died one way or another. And I did what I often do when I'm running out of ideas - I looked at Emma. From the despair written on her face, I realized that she realized the hopelessness of the situation.

But her stubbornly jutted chin showed that she was going to do something anyway. Only when she, staggering and stretching out her arms in front of her, stepped forward, did I remember that she did not see emptiness. I wanted to warn her, to reach out to her and stop her, but my tongue did not obey me, and I could not grab her without first dropping the folding man. But then Addison was next to her. He barked at the creature, and Emma tried in vain to light a flame. Sparks flickered on and off between her palms, as if she were flicking a dead lighter.

The creature laughed, cocked the pistol and aimed at Emma. The void rushed towards me, howling in unison with the screech of the train slowing down behind me. It was at that moment that I realized that it was all over and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. At the same time, something inside me relaxed and the pain that I always felt in close proximity to the emptiness also disappeared. This pain resembled a prolonged high-frequency howl, and as soon as it subsided, I discovered that it was hiding some other sound, some kind of indistinct muttering at the very edge of consciousness.

I rushed at him. He grabbed him with both hands. He jumped up and screamed at the top of his lungs. “His,” I said in a language foreign to me. The word consisted of only two syllables, but included many meanings. And as soon as it left my lips, the results were immediate. The void running towards me stopped abruptly, moving forward a little by inertia, then turned to the side and threw its tongue, which curled three times around the creature’s leg. Having lost her balance, she fired. The bullet ricocheted off the ceiling, after which the void turned the creature upside down and threw it into the air.

My friends did not immediately understand what had happened. While they stood with their mouths open, and the second creature shouted something into the radio, I heard the doors of the carriage open behind me.

This was the only chance for salvation.

- WENT! – I shouted, and they listened to me.

Emma, stumbling, ran towards the train, Addison got under her feet, and I tried to get through the narrow doors with a folding man, slippery with blood and sticking out in all directions. Finally, all three of us managed to get into the carriage.

Shots rang out again. This creature was emptying its clip at random, trying to get into the void.

The doors began to close, but then opened again. “Please clear the doors,” the announcer’s cheerful voice came from the speakers.

- His legs! – Emma exclaimed, pointing to the long legs of the folding man and the toes of his shoes sticking out. I managed to remove them from the doorway a split second before the doors slammed shut. The creature dangling in the air fired several more times before the annoyed void threw it against the wall and it slid into a motionless heap on the floor.

The second creature was already running towards the exit. Him too,” I tried to say, but it was too late. The doors closed, and, jerking off, the train quickly picked up speed.

I looked around, glad that the carriage in which we found ourselves was empty. What would ordinary people think of us?

- Are you okay? – I asked Emma.

She sat very straight and was breathing heavily, looking at me intently.

“Thanks to you,” she replied. “Did you really force the hollow to do all this?”

“I think so,” I answered uncertainly.

“This is amazing,” she said quietly.

I tried to understand whether she was delighted or frightened. Or delighted and frightened at the same time.

“We owe you our lives,” Addison told me, affectionately nuzzling my hand with his nose. “You are a very special boy.”

The folding man laughed. Lowering my head, I saw a smile on his face, distorted by pain.

- Here you see? - he said. “I told you it’s a miracle.” – He immediately became serious. Grabbing my hand, he thrust a square of cardboard into my palm. Photograph. “My wife and my child,” he whispered. “Our enemy captured them a long time ago.” If you find the others, maybe...

Looking at the photo, I shuddered. It was a small portrait, about the size of a small wallet, of a woman with a child. It was clear that Sergei had been carrying it with him for a very long time. Although the people in the photograph were quite attractive, the photograph itself - or its negative - was seriously damaged, perhaps nearly burning in a fire, exposed to such temperatures that only distorted fragments of faces survived. Before, Sergei had never mentioned his family. Since we met, he hasn't talked about anything at all except the need to gather an army of strange people, traveling from loop to loop and recruiting into this army everyone who survived the raids and cleansing of creatures and voids and was still capable fight. But he never said why he needed an army. He wanted his wife and child back.

“We’ll find them too,” I promised.

We both knew how unlikely it was to save them, but now he needed those words.

“Thank you,” he said and relaxed in the middle of the pool of blood spreading across the floor.

“He doesn’t have long left,” Addison said, licking Sergei’s face.

“I might be able to generate enough heat to cauterize and close the wound,” Emma muttered.

Taking a step towards Sergei, she began to rub her palms.

Addison rubbed his nose against Sergei's stomach over his shirt.

- Right here. The wound is here.

Emma placed her palms on either side of where Addison indicated. Hearing the hiss of flesh, I straightened up, fighting off the dizziness.

Looking out the window, I saw that we had not yet left the station. The driver may have slowed down due to some debris on the tracks. Flashing emergency lights snatched from the darkness the body of a dead creature buried in the glass, then the mangled telephone booth where insight first descended on me, then the emptiness... I shuddered when I saw that she was casually, as if going for a morning jog, jogging along the platform parallel to the train , several carriages behind.

Stop. “Don’t come closer,” I blurted out in English, looking out the window. My thoughts were confused as pain and howling filled my head again.

Picking up speed, the train burst into the tunnel. I pressed my face against the glass, trying to see the emptiness. Behind there was only darkness, and then another red flash followed and for a moment I saw a frozen frame - a flying void. Her legs had already left the platform, and her tongues were wrapped around the railings of the last carriage.

Miracle. Damn it. I have not yet had time to figure out what happened to me.

* * *

I took his legs, and Emma took his hands, and we carefully laid Sergei on the long seat. He lay unconscious, stretched out to his full height and swaying slightly in time with the movement of the train under an advertisement for “Bake at Home” pizza. If he was going to die, I didn't think it should happen on the floor.

Emma lifted his thin shirt.

“The bleeding has stopped,” she reported to us, “but if he doesn’t end up in the hospital soon, he won’t survive.”

“He could die anyway,” Addison objected. – Especially in the hospital in the present. Imagine - three days later he comes to his senses, his wound has healed, but everything else has almost failed, because he is already two hundred and bird-knows-how-many years old.

“Maybe so,” Emma sighed. “On the other hand, I will be very surprised if in three days at least one of us remains alive, in any condition.” And I don't know what else we can do for him.

I had already heard that two or three days was the maximum time that any strange creature previously living in the loop could spend in the present before rapidly and inevitably aging began. This time was enough to make short visits to the present, but the strange ones could not stay in it. This allowed travel between loops, but discouraged any desire to linger. Only the most desperate heads and ymbrynes made forays for more than a few hours - as soon as they hesitated, the consequences were terrible.

Emma stood up. In the pale yellow light of the carriage, her skin took on a sickly hue. She immediately staggered and, in order not to fall, grabbed one of the metal supports. I took her hand and sat her down next to me. The strength completely left her, and she literally slid down onto the seat. I was also exhausted, because for two days I had hardly slept or eaten properly, not counting those rare moments when we had to gorge ourselves like pigs. I was scared, and I was always running somewhere in these damn shoes that were rubbing my feet. I had already forgotten that life can be different. But the worst thing was that every time I spoke in the language of voids, it was as if I had lost some part of myself, and I had no idea how to get it back. I felt a level of fatigue that I had never even imagined before. I discovered something new in myself, some new source of strength and power. But it was draining and finite, and I wondered if I was draining myself by draining it.

Miss Peregrine - 3

The ends of the earth, the depths of the seas,

hopelessness of centuries, you chose everything.

ME: I did it, Jacob Portman from the Florida Keys. At the moment, this horror - the embodiment of nightmares and darkness - was not going to kill us, because I asked him not to do so. I unceremoniously ordered him to remove his tongue from my neck. “Let’s go,” I said. “Out,” I said. I didn't know that the human mouth could produce the sounds of the language in which I said it. And - lo and behold! - it worked. Fury burned in his eyes, but his body obeyed my order. Somehow I tamed this monster - I cast a spell on it. But sleeping creatures wake up, and the spells end. Especially if these spells are cast by accident. I felt the emptiness grow wild under my limp bodily shell.

Addison nuzzled my leg.

Now other creatures will come here. Will this monster let us out of here?

“Talk to him again,” Emma asked in a trembling and breaking voice. - Tell her to get lost.

I tried to find the right words, but they eluded me.

I do not know how.

“I knew a minute ago,” Addison recalled. - It seemed to me that a demon had possessed you.

Get out! - I shouted.

It sounded English. The void did not move. I tensed, glared into her inky eyes and made another attempt.

Get out of here! Leave us alone!

English again. The Hollow tilted its head like a puzzled dog, but otherwise remained as motionless as a statue.

Has she left? - Addison asked.

Still no one saw her except me.

“She’s still here,” I replied. - I don't know what to do with this.

I felt terribly stupid and helpless. Has my gift really disappeared so quickly?

It’s okay,” Emma intervened. - In any case, it is useless to explain anything to the void.

Throwing her hand forward, she tried to light the flame, but it immediately hissed and went out. This seemed to completely weaken her. I hugged her waist tighter, afraid she would fall.

Save your strength, match,” Addison advised her. - I'm sure they will be useful to us again.

If necessary, I will fight her with my bare hands,” Emma said. - The most important thing now is to find the others before it’s too late.

Rest. It seemed to me that I could still see them disappearing into the depths of the tunnel. Horace's clothes were in complete disarray. Bronwyn, with all her strength, was no match for the creatures' pistols. Enoch was completely stunned by the explosion. Hugh took advantage of the chaos to yank Olivia's heavy shoes off and drag her along with him, barely managing to catch the flying girl's heel. And they all disappeared after they were pushed into the train, crying and frightened, by armed creatures. Our friends disappeared along with the ymbryne, saving whom we almost died. And now the train was carrying them through the bowels of London to a fate worse than death. It's too late, I thought. It was getting late by the time Kaul's soldiers stormed Miss Wren's icy hideout. It was getting late that evening when we mistook Miss Peregrine's evil brother for our beloved ymbryne. But I swore to myself that we would find our friends and our ymbryne, no matter what the cost, even if we only found their bodies, even if it meant paying with our own lives.

– Jacob, we will never forget you! – Olivia said, sniffling.

“I will write down your story to immortalize it,” Millard promised. – This will be my new project. And I will see to it that it is included in the new edition of the Stories. You will become famous!

Then Addison came up to me, followed by two grim cubs. I didn’t understand who adopted whom—he adopted them or they adopted him.

“You are the fourth bravest person I have ever met,” he told me. - I hope to see you again.

“I hope so too,” I answered completely sincerely.

- Oh, Jacob, can we come and visit you? – Claire begged. – I always wanted to see America.

I didn't dare remind her why this was impossible.

“Of course you can,” I replied. - I'll be very happy.

Charon tapped his pole on the side of the boat.

- Please come on board!

I reluctantly stepped into the boat. Emma and Miss Peregrine followed me. They insisted on sticking around until I met my parents, and I didn't argue with them. It seemed to me that it would gradually become easier to say goodbye.

Charon untied the ship and pushed off from the dock wall. Our friends shouted and waved their arms after us. I waved back, but seeing them disappear in the distance was too painful, so I closed my eyes, and soon they disappeared around the bend in the Ditch.

Nobody wanted to talk. We silently watched the rickety buildings and rickety bridges pass by. After some time we approached the crossing. The current pulled us powerfully into the same tunnel through which we entered Devil's Acre, and spat us out on the opposite side into a sultry and humid modern day. The Devil's Acre slums have disappeared. Instead, the banks were lined with gleaming office towers and glass-fronted apartment buildings. A boat whizzed past.

From everywhere, the sounds of active life in the present, full of activities and worries, poured into my consciousness. Mobile phone ringing. Unbridled pop music. We sailed past an open restaurant on the canal embankment, but thanks to the charms of Charon, the people dining on the platform did not notice us. I wonder what they would think if they saw two teenagers in black, a woman in a strict Victorian dress and Charon in a cloak from an old woman with a scythe, floating out of the underworld. Who knows, maybe the modern world is already so fed up with entertainment that no one would bat an eyelid.

Besides, now that we were back in the present, I was increasingly worried about what exactly I would tell my parents. By now they had decided that I was crazy or addicted to hard drugs. I'll be very lucky if they don't throw me in a mental hospital. Even if they don't, I'm guaranteed therapy for years to come. They will never trust me again.

But this was my fight, and I knew I could handle it. For me personally, the easiest thing would be to tell them the truth. But this was ruled out. I knew that my parents would never understand this part of my life. And if I tried to make them believe and understand, then they had every chance of ending up in a mental hospital.

The father already knew more about strange children than he was entitled to. He had seen them on Cairnholm, although he thought he had dreamed it. Emma then left him a letter and a photograph of her and my grandfather. And as if all this wasn't enough, when I called my dad from the subway, I told him myself that I was weird. Now I already understood that it was very selfish and I made a mistake. And now I was also heading to meet them in the company of Emma and Miss Peregrine.

“I was thinking,” I said, turning to them. “Maybe you shouldn’t come with me?”

- Why? – Emma asked. “During this time, we certainly won’t have time to grow old quickly...

“I don’t think it will be great if my parents see me with you.” It will already be very difficult for me to explain everything to them.

“I thought about that too,” answered Miss Peregrine.

- About what? About my parents?

- Yes. If you want, I can help you.

“Among the many duties of a ymbryne is the duty to communicate with normal people who are overly curious, causing problems for us, or otherwise bothering us. We have tools that can quench their curiosity and make them forget that they saw something unusual.

– Did you know about this? – I asked Emma.

- Certainly. If they didn't have their memories erased, all strange people would do was end up in the newspapers.

- So this... really erases people's memories?

“It’s more like removing certain uncomfortable memories,” Miss Peregrine explained. – It is completely painless and has no side effects. Still, this may seem too radical to you. So I leave the choice up to you.

“Okay,” I nodded.

- What well? – Emma asked.

“Okay, please erase my parents’ memory.” This is just an amazing opportunity. And at the same time... there was one case... when I was twelve years old, I crashed my mother’s car into the garage door...

- You're getting carried away, Mr. Portman.

“I was joking,” I muttered, although it was not entirely true.

In any case, I was extremely relieved to know that I wouldn't have to spend many years doing nothing more than asking for forgiveness for running away, making them believe I was dead, and almost breaking them. life. And this could not but rejoice.

Chapter Eleven

Charon dropped us off on the same dark, rat-infested pier where we first saw him. As I stepped off the boat, I felt a surge of nostalgia. Yes, for the past few days I have been in constant danger, I have suffered from the most exotic wounds and been up to my ears in mud. But I knew that I would never have such adventures again. I realized that I would miss this. Of course, not so much the trials I experienced, but the person I was when I overcame them. Now I knew that there was an iron will hidden inside me, and I hoped that I could maintain it, no matter how soft my normal life became.

“Bye,” said Charon. “I was glad to meet you, despite all the endless problems you brought upon me.”

“Yes, me too,” I replied, shaking his hand. - It was interesting.

“Wait for us here,” Miss Peregrine asked him. “Miss Bloom and I will be back in a couple of hours, or even earlier.”

Finding my parents was easy. It would be even easier if I kept my phone. But even without him, all I had to do was show up at the first police station I came across. I was a known wanted man, and just half an hour after I told the officer my name and sat down on the bench to wait, my parents burst through the door. Their clothes were wrinkled and there was no doubt that they had slept without undressing. Mom's usually perfect makeup was smeared all over her face, Dad was covered in three days of stubble, and both were holding stacks of WANTED signs with my photo on them. I felt terrible remorse for what I had put them through. But when I started to apologize, they dropped the ads and hugged me from both sides. My dad's sweater drowned out whatever I was trying to say.