Hello there! We're back! Motivation sucks because it refuses to come when you need it. But here we are! Finally! Last part! Enjoy!
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Logan POV
I have never been so sick of a library, but this one had monster kidnappers so I believe that’s fair. My hand refused to leave my side, where a gun David had given me was. You can never be too careful.
When we got to the cave, I felt like throwing up. This had to be over, tonight. I couldn’t last another day knowing that who knows how many kids were being used, not to mention Elliot didn’t deserve whatever those changelings were putting him through. David gave me a look, as if asking if I was okay. Despite it being a lie, I nodded, and then we started going down.
David had his gun in his hand, fidgeting with it. A small part of me prayed he wouldn’t accidentally set it off, but I knew David. He was careful, and he knew his way around a gun. We’d be fine. Or at least, he wouldn’t shoot me or himself.
It was empty when we got down there. No surprise, I wasn’t dumb enough to expect a changeling rave.
“Help.”
The voice was weak, similar to how Melanie’s had sounded when we found her. But there was no way we could’ve missed another kid when we came down here last time, and David had told me the place was empty when me and him split up earlier that day. He was observant as Hell, he wouldn’t miss a living being.
“Help,” the voice called again, and then we saw it. A child, weak and frail, like they had been sick for years. It needed help, specifically medical attention. Quick.
“Hey,” I said, taking a step towards it, but David quickly pulled me back. “Logan that’s not-”
He never got to finish, because that’s when the thing flashed its white eyes and pounced. It grabbed onto me, holding tight and trying to bite me. Of course Belphegor hadn’t mentioned if their bite was lethal, so what was I supposed to do but yell to get it off?
“Gairim agus coisricim thú,” David shouted, how he had done so perfectly I’ll never understand. The changeling flinched and let go of me, falling to the ground. But of course it didn’t stay down for long, that little ball of spite. So I got rid of it like the professional I am.
I kicked it.
That soccer net I used to have paid off. I kicked the thing hard into the wall.
David got out a match and lit it before throwing it at the changeling. It screamed as it blew up in flames. I breathed heavily. Thank God.
“We have to go, more will be coming,” David said. I stood up. “No, we have to find the others!” David rolled his eyes before pointing to a hatch on the floor. “Who said we’re going up?”
It was easy enough to open (then again, super strength) and then we were running down the stairs. We knew there would be more changelings here. Then again, neither of us mentioned it and neither of us seemed to care. We had chosen this, even if it was the stupidest life you could live. Too late to turn back now, literally and figuratively.
At the bottom it was a long hallway all made of stone, of course it wasn’t empty either. Two people stood leaning against the wall, obviously changelings since they weren’t tied up. Me and David shot them before they were even able to realize we weren’t like them. Obviously it wouldn’t kill them but it would work well enough for now. We kept going but the shots must’ve alerted the rest of the nest, because soon there were ten of them coming our way.
“Split up?” I asked. David shrugged. “What works works.” Then he went left and I went right.
A few changelings followed me, though I was pretty sure more went after David. “Damn, don’t think I’ll put up as much of a fight?” I yelled before shooting another one. But they just kept coming.
Soon enough I reached a dead end. There were doors on either side of the hall but I didn’t know where they would lead or if they would trap me in an even smaller area. That’s when I heard a muffled yell. It sounded pained, and like it was coming from the right door. Turning back to the changelings, I took a bottle out and threw the contents at them. Gasoline. Then I used my new lighter to light it on fire.
They growled, and the action made it so much more obvious they weren’t human. I smirked and gave them a mocking wave as they burned before crashing through the door. Elliot was the first person I saw, tied up and gagged. A changeling was next to him, a knife in hand, but when he saw me he quickly threw said knife at my head. Luckily he had bad aim. I threw my lighter right back at him, and he turned to ashes only a few seconds later. “I need to get myself a flamethrower,” I muttered.
A muffled yell, and I turned back to Elliot. His eyes were wide but he seemed mainly uninjured. “It’s okay, it’s me,” I said, crouching down and getting the gag out of his mouth before moving to the ropes. “I don’t-I was just at the library and then, God I don’t remember anything else.” He rubbed his wrists once they were untied. “How do you feel?” I asked. He let out a small laugh. “My head hurts like Hell.”
“Mister Logan?” I looked up. Lucas. And not just him. A group of kids was in the corner of the room, tied up. My eyes widened. They were alive, but the amount of them. How long had these changelings been doing this? Months? Years?
“Do any of you…do any of you know where the leader is, the changeling?” I asked. Lucas nodded. “She was in the room across the hall, she visits us sometimes. She’s creepy.” Elliot squinted at me. “Changelings? Logan what is going-”
I handed him a knife. “Cut them free. I’m going to find the leader of this operation.” Elliot tried to grab me. “Logan what the hell is going on?” I backed away to the door. “I can’t explain right now. Just, get these kids and yourself out of here. I’ll explain everything, I promise, but you all need to get out of here first.” I didn’t give him time to ask another question before I ran out of the room. There was no time. We lost the leader, we’d never find them again.
Luckily, I crashed right into David when I got out. “Logan, where is it?” I motioned to the door across the hall. “Elliot and the kids are fine, they’re getting out of here. Now come on.” David crashed through the door with his shoulder easily, and we were in.
Inside was a woman sitting on the ground, facing away from us. She seemed calm, relaxed, like we hadn’t just broken in. “Ah, humans. Always impossible to deal with. This is why we usually work with children, they’re compliant,” she said, standing up. David pointed his gun at her, but she just laughed.
“You know that won’t kill me, don’t you? If it didn’t hurt my children, it certainly won’t hurt me.” David lowered his gun. “Maybe, but we got fire,” he said, taking out his box of matches. I smiled, this was going to be fine.
Then she turned around, and I wanted to scream. My mom. She looked like my mom, just like how I remembered her. Of course she wasn’t, my mom was a ghoul and she died years ago. But it was uncanny.
“Oh, Logan, you wouldn’t kill your mother would you? I mean, not after the first time. Why did those people come for them again? Something about a creepy child with claws?” I reached for my gun, but I knew it wasn’t going to be coming out. I couldn’t. She wasn’t my mom, my mom would never say that, but she looked like it.
David lifted his matches. “No. You’re not her, so go back to Hell or whatever hole you crawled out of,” he said, lighting the match. However, he hesitated. It wasn’t even his mom, but he knew it was mine. He knew I didn’t want to see that.
Yet I knew she was a monster. A real one, the kind you’re warned about.
So I took the match from David and threw it at her.
She screamed, curse words flying out like she was a sailor. “Your mother-”
I shook my head. “No, my mom’s been gone, and you’re not her. Nice try though.” I couldn’t take my eyes away as she burned, a charred body of ashes. David grabbed my shoulders. “Logan, come on. We need to leave.” I knew what he meant. We needed to leave before I broke down. So I let him lead me out of there.
It only took one call to the police for the kid’s parents to show up. They all hugged and grabbed their children, crying. The hardest to watch was Melanie. Her father and mother grabbed her, as if not believing she was real. Tears poured down all their cheeks as they held onto their daughter for dear life, as if the moment they let go she’d disappear. Eventually they had to though, or she’d die of suffocation. She turned to me and David and ran to us. She threw her arms around us, well, as good as she could being half our height. “Tell Marina thank you for me,” Melanie said. I nodded. “Of course.”
“And thank you,” she said, looking between us as she let go. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I felt my eyes get glassy as she went back over to her parents. Maybe this was why we did it. So people could live, so people could be reunited with those they loved. Maybe that made it worth it.
Arms wrapped around my leg from the back. It was Lucas, who smiled up at me. “Thank you,” was all he said. I patted his head, a little unsure what to do. “You’re okay. That’s what matters. And you’re going to be okay from now on.” He let go of me, so I crouched down to his height. “Can you promise me you won’t get into any more trouble?” With a smile, he nodded, sticking out his pinkie. Pinkie promise. That worked for me.
He ran away over to his mom, who picked him up and held him close. David put his arm around my shoulders. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked. To be honest, I didn’t know, but I nodded anyway. “Maybe. We’ll see.” He took that answer. Then his phone rang.
He took it out and froze before showing me. “Belphegor? What does he want now?” I asked. David shrugged before picking up.
“FINALLY! I’ve been calling you two for the past hour! Look, there’s a bit of a problem and-”
A choking sound. Two seconds later, the phone call ended. Me and David looked at each other. What the hell was that? More importantly, what had that demon got himself into now?
Dun dun dun! I'll try not to keep everyone waiting with that cliffhanger too long! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!
