Changeling (A Creepypasta Fanfic)

Chapter 15

"So why exactly did we run away? We could've taken them."

I sighed, glancing at Zane while still bandaging Oliver's arm. "Because all of you had gotten injured. I didn't want you in anymore danger."

Once I'd finished tending to Oliver, he mumbled, "Thanks."

I smiled and gently ruffled his hair. I then went over to Jasper and got to work on cleaning and bandaging the small wounds on his head and arms.

"I just don't get why you didn't kill that one guy when you had the chance," Jasper simply stated.

I stayed quiet for a moment, hearing Paul butt into the conversation. "Oh yeah, I thought that was odd too. Tell us, Marlow. Why didn't you kill him?"

They all looked at me, awaiting an answer. I sighed and went over to Paul, who lifted his pants leg so I could get to the injuries on his leg.

"It's true. I was ready to crush that guy under my foot. But then I realized something. After seeing all of those people and being face to face with one of them, I realized that they are just like us."

I heard quiet gasps from all of the boys and Paul asked me, "So what are you saying? That we should just let them catch us?"

"No," I interrupted. "I'm simply implying that I don't think they are a serious threat. Did any of you happen to hear what they said? They had no intention of fighting with us, they only acted in self-defense."

Jasper nodded. "I do remember them saying that. They were supposed to catch us, not fight us."

"Well what does that mean for us then?" Paul asked.

I glanced at each of them before replying, "It means that we will do the same then. We will simply defend ourselves. Plus, it'll be kind of fun to toy with them."

After a moment of silence, Paul stretched his arms and said, "Well, I'm off to bed."

He left the bathroom with Jasper and Oliver following him. Zane was about to leave too until I stopped him. I placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn toward me.

"Zane, I haven't treated you yet."

"I don't need treating. I'm fine."

I rose an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Then why is there blood on your shirt?"

He glanced down at the black stain before sighing and slipping his shirt off. Just as I thought, there was a large cut right under his collarbone that bled. He averted his gaze as I began cleaning the wound.

It was quiet until he finally said something. "Marlow, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

I glanced up at him to meet his blue eyes. "Letting those freaks live. Why not just go ahead and kill them off? Why does it matter if they're like us?"

I sighed and bandaged the cut on his chest. "It's not something I really care to talk about."

It grew quiet as I finished up on Zane's injury. I quickly tried to make my way past him and to the door but he was almost immediately in front of me, blocking my path.

"Just answer my questions, Marlow," he said with a sigh.

I lowered my head, gazing down at the floor. "It's because...because I thought we were the only ones."

I looked up to see Zane with his head tilted slightly. He didn't seem to understand what I meant. I let out a quiet sigh and averted my gaze.

"I've been alone my whole life. I've never really had any friends or family or anyone else like me. And then I gained these powers, but still I was all alone. Until I met the four of you. And for awhile it felt like we were the only ones like this. I guess just knowing that there are others like us out there makes me feel...better."

I was surprised when he pulled me into a hug, pressing me against his bare chest. "But you don't have to feel lonely anymore. You have us, and that's enough."

I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes. I found myself returning his hug and resting my head against him. For some reason, the sound of his heartbeat along with his warmth seemed to soothe me.

After pulling away, I wiped my eyes and smiled. "Thank you."

He returned my smile. "And if you don't think those people are a threat, then neither do I. I trust your judgement."

I finally walked past him while saying, "I think it's time we all get some sleep. We've had a rough night."

"Goodnight, Marlow."

That was the last thing I heard from Zane before heading to bed. I never realized how lucky I am. I couldn't ask for a better family.

Jack's pov

"Who would've thought the Nightstalkers would have a leader," I stated as I worked on everyone's injuries.

"No kidding," Ben replied. "Did you see the size of that thing?!"

Toby nodded while twitching. "That thing was scary. It freed the smaller one that you guys caught. And then we all got attacked."

I nodded and glanced over at Jeff. "Yeah, seems the only one who came out unscathed was Jeff. Although I recall him being attacked by the leader. How the hell did you get out of that, Jeff?"

He took a quick glance at me before returning his gaze to the floor. He hasn't said a word to any of us since we got back, which is definitely strange for him. Slender turned his head and stared down at Jeff.

"Jeff, would you mind explaining this? What happened that has your thoughts all mixed together?"

"It's complicated," he finally said with a sigh. "We may have watched and learned about those creatures, but I'm beginning to think they are more complex than we originally thought."

We all watched him in silence as he explained to us. "You were right, Jack. That big one had me pinned. But that's when I noticed something odd. Staring into the eyes of that beast, I saw some kind of emotion behind them. And just when I thought I was done for, it let me go. It spared my life."

"Is that why you went chasing after them when they fled?" I asked, remembering the events.

He nodded. "Yeah. But it's weird. I chased them to the edge of the woods, but then there was no sign of them anywhere. It's like they just...disappeared. There was a small mansion in that area, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it."

"Wait, a mansion, you say?" Slender suddenly interrupted. "There could very well be a connection between the Nightstalkers and the residents of that place."

"So what does that mean for us?" Ben asked.

Slender seemed to glance over at his proxies before answering, "Your objective remains relatively the same. Capture the Nightstalkers. Although the leader should be your primary target now. But I have a different assignment for Masky and Hoodie."

He turned toward the two boys and told them, "I want you two to investigate that mansion Jeff saw. Find out who lives there and see if you can get any more useful information on the Nightstalkers."

Masky and Hoodie both nodded. Well this changes things a bit. Could the Nightstalkers actually be smarter than we realized or could someone be controlling them? I hope the proxies can find some sort of answers to this.