The Monster From The Nightmares

11. Easier

Autumn wakes up to Mrs. Wu shaking her awake.

"Kris wants you to start getting ready," she whispers.

Autumn groans and opens her eyes. Mrs. Wu smiles and hands something to her.

"What's this?" Autumn asks, looking at it. It was a small tube.

"It's black hair dye. When you get done, I'm going to cut your hair."

"Cut my hair?" Autumn touches her head protectively. She was very proud of her long, flaxen hair, "Why?"

"He said it'd be safer for all of you if you changed the ways you looked. Easier to diappear," Mrs. Wu explains, "I also have colored contacts for you to wear."

Autumn sighs and nods, swinging her legs out of the bed. She goes down the hall into the bathroom and rubs the smelly, oily substance into her hair. It burned her hands, so she quickly washes her hands when it was thoroughly spread. She then, after letting go it sit for a few minutes, rinses it out. When she looked in the mirror, she bites her bottom lip.

Autumn's already naturally pale skin was even paler with her hair dyed a bluish black.

She sighs and exits, hiding behind her hair.

"Autumn, what happened to your hair?" Zitao gasps.

She looks up and giggles a bit.

"Same thing that happened to you, except with less makeup," she tells him.

His overgrown dark hair had been cut and dyed blond. His eyes were outlined with thick eyeliner, making the innocent boy look like a gangster.

"Kris gege says it's for protection," Zitao defends, "He also says that we have to change our names."

She bites her bottom lip and nods, going back to her room, where Mrs. Wu was waiting with a pair of scissors.

"Are you ready dear?"

Autumn nods.

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

Hours later, all of them are ready to go. Kris's hair was dyed a light brown and Luhan's was now red. All of their hair had been cut and they were wearing gray contacts.

Autumn's hair had been chopped just above her shoulders as well as thinned. Her eyes were a storm blue thanks to the colored contacts Mrs. Wu had given her.

"Are you all ready?" Mrs. Wu asks, biting her bottom lop. Kris nods.

"Fake ID's, New birth certificates, everything?"

"Mrs. Wu, we're ready," Luhan whispers.

The older woman had been up all night working with her connections to provide new identities for them, so running away and hiding would be easier.

"What are your new names?"

Kris starts, "Blake Monroe. I'm twenty three years old. I'm the oldest."

"Alex Monroe," Luhan says, "Seventeen. I'm the second youngest." He shakes his head when he says that.

Zitao is next, "Taylor Monroe, I'm eighteen."

"Sofia Monroe, youngest at sixteen." She was the only one who's age stayed the same.

"Good," she says, then sniffs. Kris and Luhan wrap their arms around her and stay there for a few minutes.

She is the one to pull away, kissing both of their cheeks.

"Mom, I'm so sorry," Kris whispers. She waves her left hand dismissingly and uses her right hand to to wipe away tears.

"Just promise you'll come back to me?" she asks, "All of you?"

Autumn and Zitao nod.

"We will Mrs. Wu," Luhan promises

Kris is to busy crying. The tears stream out of his eyes silently, an occasional sniff is heard.

"All of you, go now. I'll be waiting."

They nod. Kris pulls Autumn onto his back, grabs Luhan and Zitao, and takes off into the darkening sky.

🔹🔹🔹🔹

"Why have you gathered all of us Suho? I was sleeping!" Chen whines, sitting down at the long table in the dining room.

"We have news that everyone needs to hear," Yixing explains.

Sehun scoffs, yanking out a chair, "Everyone needs to hear? How do you plan on getting Kim Whine-In to come downstairs?"

"He'll be here," Suho assures, also sitting.

Just then, Jongin appears at the door to the dining room. He was wearing skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. It was an outfit they were familiar with. But this time, he looked so... Hollow and frail. His eyes were puffy and had dark circles underneath.

"Jongin," Baekhyun gasps, taking his feet off the table. He was at the head.

Jongin looks at the older boy warily. He wraps his arms around himself and lowers his head, going to the nearest seat and sitting. He doesn't lift his head. Chanyeol, who was sitting across from him, leans over and rubs his arm comfortingly.

"As Jongin already knows, this meeting is about the death of our brother Kyungsoo," Suho starts.

"What about it?" Xiumin inquires.

"We might have found away to bring him back from the dead," Yixing continues for Suho.

"You have?! "

"What?!"

"How?!"

Suho raises a hand to silence the stream of questions.

"It's not confirmed," he proceeds to say, "The way might work, it might not."

"What's the way?" Jongin asks quietly, glancing up.

"We have to get the boys in the basement back, specifically Huang Zitao," Yixing explains, "He can reverse timelines, which might very well include bringing back the dead."

"How do we know they aren't dead already?" Sehun asks, Jongin, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun glare.

"Because A. If they wanted to kill themselves, they would've just done it here. Why go through the trouble of getting away if you weren't planning to live any way," Suho explains.

"And B. They took Autumn. They aren't heartless. If they had been planning to kill themselves, they wouldn't have taken her to just leave her at a gas station alone. Like us, they have a pack mentality. They have 'adopted' her as one of their own by taking her, they can't and won't just ditch her," Yixing finishes, "While them taking her does have its disadvantages on our side, it does give us an advantage."

"And what's that?" Baekhyun asks, leaning forward.

Yixing smiles, "They'll keep her with them because of her knowledge on the modern world. And because of her knowledge on the modern world, she'll show them things and do things that will make all of them easier to track."