Chapter Text
I have seen this theory jokingly in comments, but this was proposed to me by my friend in seriousness. As it stands, what if the Phantoms are not seeking to hurt or kill the kids, but instead help them or warn them about something? We know there are much worse things than the Phantoms, take into account the centipede monsters and the people on the outside, and so what fi the Phantoms know that and want to stop the kids from leaving the places the Phantoms can watch? There seem to be next to no Phantoms in the school when they're trying to get to the football field. I have three main points to back this up.
Point one: the Phantoms have never been shown to intentionally harm the kids outside of one time, which could be explained as well, and I will momentarily. The first time we see the Phantoms in the series, not counting that first episode, is when one grabs Ashlyn's arm in the Sorrel Weed house. If you look closely at the long, sideways panel that shows it you will notice that the phantom was leaning down slightly, its fingers wrapped around Ashlyn's left arm with its mouth almost by her ear as though whispering to her. Grabbing someone's arm can be a way of getting their attention so you can tell them something, perhaps it had been the Phantom trying to tell Ashlyn to leave the house while she still could. She only gets injured when she yanks her arm out from the Phantom's grip, leaving scratches on her arm that were clearly not intentionally made by the Phantom, but instead an accident caused by Ash's sudden movement.
When Logan is subsequently injured only a few episodes later, it's much the same case. With the Phantom's neck trapped under the bus window, it cannot see the kids who are pinning it down to kill it. Aiden's hand slips, releasing one of the Phantom's arms. The Phantom flings out that arm, which happened to be the one right next to Logan's stomach, and slashes Logan. Remember, it didn't know Logan was there. It couldn't have because Logan and Ashlyn didn't go to the window until after Aiden had pushed its head through.
Now, there is the problem of one very specific moment: The moment during the car retrieval mission when Ashlyn is standing under an awning and a Phantom reaches down, grabbing her by the neck of her shirt and dragging her up in a very rough manner that results in her slamming her head into the awning before the Phantom drags her up and slams her into the roof.
Ladies, gentlemen, and... tablechairs, please prepare for a Patented Binnie Tangent, diet edition!
Allow me to begin. We know there must be worse out there, especially after the centipede monsters. There is also the overarching story of the whole reason they're in the Phantom realm: the organization led by a mysterious 'Boss' character. If the Phantoms were trying to help- and there is another theory as to why that we'll touch on later- then perhaps some of them are trying to scare them. Or, even, are trying to make sure they can't leave the populated parts of town that are overflowing with the Phantoms, that way said creatures can protect and watch the kids. But why slam her head?
Well, that can be explained a few ways. Namely, the Phantom didn't even realize it did. It was just trying to keep her still and didn't realize its own strength. When it moves to slash at Ashlyn, it is only done after she has stabbed it's foot with her Killies™. So, basically, once it was provoked. It could also just be that not all Phantoms want to help.
So, the Phantoms know there is worse out there waiting for the kids. Some are just trying to warn the kids, protect them in a kinder way. Others... are going about it differently, perhaps. Maybe some are more jaded. Some try and protect the kids with more force, refusing to let them leave or trying to toughen them up or scare them.
This leads to the next pieces of evidence.
The Phantoms do, indeed, seem to be striving to garner the kids' attention, especially that of Ashlyn. In the Sorrel Weed house, as earlier mentioned, the Phantom appeared to simply be trying to... get her attention. All it did was grab her arm, much like a child trying to talk to an adult who's in the middle of a conversation. Then there's the case of the one on the bus. Now, it does look as though it tries to attack her. But we can't be sure because she rolled away, leaving it to grab her braid. Remember that. It's claws didn't strike the ground or wind into her braid, it only grabbed. As though it had been only attempting to grab her. As though it only wanted to talk. Remember, only Ashlyn can hear them. Perhaps they know this and it's why we see them seeking her attention so much.
Of course, there's also the roof once more.
It understands Ashlyn. Ashlyn yells for it to let her go as she's pinned on the roof and it stops itself from attacking her, tilting its head in acknowledgment and curiosity as though asking 'what?' or 'why?'. Before it can do anything- hurt Ashlyn or let her go- Logan fires the shot to save her and the Phantom is dead. But for the moment, it had understood her to some extent.
Lastly, and briefly, the only people who go out of their ways to hurt the kids are the malicious humans. Jasmine, the girl who leads them into the Sorrel Weed house, Ryan who spies on them, and this mysterious boss who presumably ordered the kidnappings. But not the Phantoms.
I will say that we are slightly unsure of the centipedes and that relates to a theory to come later.
But hey, that's just a theory.
A Phantom Theory!!