The Changelings

After an hour of walking, we arrived at a small village. It was a kilometer away from the forest. They carved the name of the village on top of its gate.

“Welcome to Apostria!” The old man said with joy.

Two men guarded the gate as we entered. The villagers were busy doing things on the sidewalk. There were vendors and kids playing on the street. There were beautiful murals on the walls. 

So these people like art. It’s clear in their clothing, which has intricate patterns and designs. One could identify that they belong in this village at a glance. They made their houses out of wood and straw hut.

“Welcome to my humble home,” he said as he led me to one house.

I went inside their not-so-spacious house. They divided their place into rooms which contain a kitchen, a dining area, and three small rooms. There was no chair, instead, there were mats around the small table. I followed him as he sat down on the mat.

“I suppose we must introduce ourselves. My name is Ky — I mean Vad. Vad Wagner,” I said.

I almost forgot that I don’t own this body.

“I am Hesu. This is my wife, Ferer,” he said while pointing at the old woman who was serving us some tea. I smelled the tea and looked at it closely.

“Don’t worry. It’s safe. It’s an herbal tea. Our people harvested it from the mountain. We mean no harm to a traveler,” he said.

I sipped an ample amount of it. It tastes good. Thank goodness, I thought it was green tea, which I hate.

“Thank you. It’s delicious,” I said.

“Good to hear that. It’s been a long time since a traveler has come to our place. Where are you from?” He asked.

“It wasn’t my purpose to come here. My travel lost me. The existence of your village was not in my knowledge. I’m from the City of Tequera. Is there a way I can go back home?” I asked.

“I see. The city is far from here. It will take you a week to go back if you walk from here. You can ride the train which will arrive two days from now. Then it will take you only a few days to the city,” he said.

Two days? That’s too long, but better than walking.

“Thanks for the information,” I said.

“You can stay here while waiting for the train,” he said.

That sounds interesting. I’m scared and nervous. Who knows if they are some sort of cannibals?

“Thank you for your hospitality. I would’ve been food to that crazy woman,” I said.

I feel nauseous thinking about it.

“It’s an illusion. It wasn’t a woman,” Hesu said.

“Then, what was it?”

“It’s a Changeling.”

“A Changeling? I have heard nothing about it before.”

“It was a myth. We thought so, but it all began the day before yesterday. Babies have been missing from the village. The walls were helpful to protect our village against it, but it’s not enough. It was too fast. They are monsters that replace a stolen child. The changelings are discolored with hollow eyes and a rounded mouth which is full of teeth in their natural state. They look human unless seen through their reflection. The Changeling mother feeds on the stolen babies while the young Changelings feed on the mothers,” he explained.

Something like that exists? It’s scary.

“How can we kill it?” I asked.

“We can kill it through flames. The only way to kill it is to burn it or eliminate its mother.”

“Do you have a plan?” 

“Not yet. We need to gather our warriors.”

The night came. Hesu prepared a room for me to stay. I laid myself on the bed; they made it out of bamboo trunks. The idea of sleeping didn’t occur to me. My back hurts. I wasn’t used to this kind of lifestyle. I missed my fluffy comforter. 

This is my punishment, it’s my fault. I dragged myself into this mess. Gratitude should be in my heart because I’m still alive. I can make things right. I will.

As I closed my eyes, I heard a strange voice. My heart was pounding loudly. It might be the changeling! It’s here to hunt for babies again. I sneaked out of the house and followed the entity that lurks through the night. My feet led me to the woods where only fireflies serve as light. I stood there, waiting for another sound.

Not far away, I saw something that glows in the dark. I followed the light. What is it this time? I hid behind the bush. I could see a person and he’s glowing!

“It took you so long... Kylo,” the entity said and glanced at me.

My jaw dropped. I know what it is. I could see it clearly now. It has magnificent wings and a superhuman physique. He’s the most handsome creature that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I bet my eyes were sparkling in awe. He was wearing a silver robe and sandals.

“Who... are you?” I asked as I came out.

“My name is Osca. Your guardian angel,” he smiled.

I gulped. His smile was alluring. It was the most amazing five seconds of my life before he tells me the bad news.

“I’m here to tell you something destructive. You’ve committed a crime against the will of heaven. You’ve performed a ritual that opens the gateway to the dimension of darkness. Now they are freely roaming Earth. Do you realize what you’ve done?” He said with a stunning voice.

“I’m sorry. You know why I did that.”

“Regardless of your reasons, the Seraphims were not delighted. Therefore, you must close what you’ve opened and end what you’ve started.”

After saying those words, he vanished.

“Vad. Wake up.”

I opened my eyes and realized that it was a dream.

“No, it wasn’t,” a voice inside of me spoke.

It made me paused. I’m certain it’s Osca, but I can’t see him this time. I’m in huge trouble. Looks like I have to help this village kill the Changeling.

“Breakfast is ready,” Ferer said.

There was plenty of food on the table, and none of it was familiar to me.

“The mountain was a gift. It supplies us with food to eat. Its soil is so rich that any plant would grow on it,” Ferer said.

“We have an annual celebration for the founding of the village a thousand years ago,” Hesu said.

A thousand years? How come I haven’t heard of this place before?

“We offer ritual to our ancestors, Appolo, and Asteria. They founded the village, that explains its name,” he added.

“You know what? I’d like to hear more about it, but I am more interested in your food. I’ve tasted nothing as good as this. It’s indescribable.”

Their food looks simple, yet delicious. They made everything with vegetables and leaves. Isn’t it surprising? I used to dislike veggies, but this changed my mind.

“Most of our vegetables are rare. We believed the mountain is magical,” Ferrer said.

“It truly is.”

After our delicious breakfast, Hesu showed me a plant that would heal my wounds.

“They call this Plantain. Its leaves will heal your wounds,” he said.

The perennial broadleaf plantain produces greenish flowers and has large, oval-shaped leaves which we can eat raw or cooked.

“Chew it and put it on your wounds,” he said.

I did what he told me. Unfortunately, it tastes bitter. My wounds pushed me to chew lots of it. I must take good care of this body or Vad will kill me. I hope these won’t leave scars. 

Vad’s skin was too flawless for an agent who’s been through combats. He has a white inked tattoo on his broad chest. They covered me with bandages and I’m feeling the soreness of these cuts. Escaping from the kidnappers was a blast. Too bad I had to kill one of Wagner’s fans.

“Tomorrow before I leave, we must eliminate the Changeling,” I said.

Hesu gathered all their men as we planned on how to kill the entity. Since I started it all, I shall bring it back to where it came from.

“How many are they out there?” I asked.

“There were five sightings of them in the forest. Looks like they are roaming around places to steal babies,” one man said.

“Hmm... What do they look like?” 

“They were like kids. Abnormal ones.”

“That’s it! We don’t have to kill all of them. We just have to eliminate their mother. Boys, prepare the gas. We must do some burning.”

We went to the cave at dawn. We filled the cave with gas and endured the foul smell. The mother of the Changelings was busy stealing babies. After that, she’s going to dispose their dead bodies inside the cave. When that happens, we are going to set it on fire.

The night was silent. All we could hear was the loud crickets. It was late, yet our senses remained active. We were in our spots, surrounding the cave inside out. My sweat was dripping though it’s cold. It was so serene, like no one’s breathing.

In a moment, it’s here. We heard footsteps toward the cave. The cries of its innocent victims destroyed the tranquility. She entered the cave with its prey on both arms. My heart was pulsating.

“How should we do this? We can’t let her eat the babies and we can’t let them get burned,” a man whispered to me.

I don’t know. My miscalculation hit me. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate.

I raised my right hand and counted from one to three. In a snap, they lit the torches that they were holding and threw them, circling the entity.

It became aggressive. We can’t stay here for long or we’ll die together with it.

“Get out! Get out of here now!” I shouted.

That was the plan, getting out and letting it burn to ashes.

“All clear,” I said.

After assuring everyone’s safety, I ran back to the cave.

“Where are you going?” Hesu asked.

“Back there. I have no time. Wait for me. If I won’t show up for twenty minutes, leave,” I replied.

I came face to face with the entity. Anger was clear on her face. I heard footsteps, lots of them. 

It looks like she called her back up.

Her kids surrounded me. I have no way out. There were five of them, glaring at me. I was shaking inside.

They attacked me with their sharp claws. All I did was avoid their scratches. My strength vanished. This is me, Kylo, not Wagner. I realized that even if I have his muscular body, my soul was still fragile, and filled with inhibitions.

I couldn’t avoid all of their attacks. I got bruises all over my body and it stings. It always was me, a loser.

Everything was getting blurry. My body feels numb. As I get weaker, I could only see the faces of my bullies. They were mocking me as I sat at the corner. They were throwing crumpled papers at me and even garbage.

I sat there, not moving like a statue. I was letting them curse at me, thinking that they would get tired and stop.

“Cheater!”

“You don’t belong here, bitch!”

“Such a weakling!”

“Shame on you!”

“You are a low-class peasant trying to be like us. You’re so gross.”

“Get lost like your Dad.”

“Your Mom should die too because you deserve to be an orphan.”

I clenched my fist with the fire burning in my eyes. I grabbed her hair and smashed her face on the table.

“You witch!”

Someone grabbed my hair. I held her hand and twitched it, not letting go of the head I smashed on the table. Someone choked my neck from behind. I lowered my body, positioned my stance, turned around, and kicked her feet. She’s knocked down.

Before I knew it, someone stabbed the side of my waist.

“You piece of shit,” I whispered.

I let the girls go, turned around like a tornado, and kick his chest. My shoes left some dirt on his uniform. Someone picked up the knife on the floor and tried to slit my nape, but I avoided it. He cut some of my hair strands instead. I grabbed his hand, twitched it, and kick his stomach.

I picked up the knife and look at them.

“How much will your organs cost?” I asked while sliding my fingers through sharp the edges of the knife.

“One million dollars for a heart. Five hundred fifty-seven thousand dollars for a liver. Two hundred sixty-two thousand dollars for each kidney. Ten dollars per inch for the skin. Five hundred dollars for the stomach, and one thousand five hundred dollars for each eyeball. Geez... You’re making me rich,” I smirked.

I laugh at their horrified faces. Pitying them wouldn’t be an option.

I came back from my senses when I heard a cry. The changelings’ lifeless body splattered on the ground. I diverted my attention to the babies. Searching for a sharp object, I looked down. I picked a small twig on the ground.

“Wagner, lend me your accuracy,” I whispered while pointing the twig to the mother of the Changelings.

In slow motion, I threw the twig straight to her head.

“Man, you are indeed the best agent in town,” I said.

I jumped off the burning circle and wrapped the babies in my arms. Poor little angels.

I went out of the cave, satisfied.

“Vad! You’re alive!”

“You’re bleeding!”

“But I’m alive,” I said before I collapsed.

Noises awakened me. I was about to get up when I felt the pain in my waist. They covered my injuries with bandages again. My bruises have patches too. Wagner will kill me for sure.

“You’re awake. I made a soup for your hangover,” Ferrer said.

“Thanks. What’s the noise all about?” I asked.

“Today is our annual celebration, our foundation day,” she smiled.

“Oh... Great.”

I sipped the bowl of soup. Damn, it tastes amazing.

“The ladies wished to see you.”

“Why?” 

“Oh, they’re here.”

Ladies came rushing in front of me while I lied there, clueless. A lady stepped closer to me and spoke.

“Vad, are you alright?” 

Gosh girl, do I look fine?

“Ugh, yeah,” I replied.

Another one intervened.

“Do you need anything?” 

I need you out of my sight.

“No. I’m fine. Thanks for your concern.”

“Are you sure?” 

I hate repeating myself, for Pete’s sake.

“Yes. Don’t worry,” I smiled awkwardly.

Another one spoke with sparkling eyes.

“Do you want to watch the fireworks with me later?” 

“Ugh, I have something to do later.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” 

“No. I mean, I can handle it alone.”

Gosh, these girls don’t know how to flirt.

“I’m still tired. Could you excuse me for a moment?” 

“Sure... Let’s go, ladies.”

Finally, the sound of silence enveloped the room. Now I know how annoying girls could get when they stick around guys who don’t like them. Now I know hard it is to find words that will not hurt their feelings or stop them from thinking that I don’t care. I mean, I don’t care, but I don’t want them to feel like it.

I want to go home. Will I make it without another entity appearing out of nowhere?