The Monster Under The Bed

21. Family

After telling them about Suho and his behavior, Baekhyun tells Jongin and Autumn to teleport them close enough they could see it, but far enough that if they were to be seen, they'd be able to get out fast.

As soon as they see the house, their jaws drop in shock. The house was burning. People in black clothes surround it, watching the flames consume it. There were several people being tied up, and after something in the house falls and casts a light, she identifies them as Suho, Xiumin, and Kyungsoo. Sehun was nowhere to be seen.

"There is no way anyone can survive that," Chen mutters from beside her. Her eyes widen and she grabs his shoulders.

"Did they get Kris out?" she asks, his eyes widen in temporary surprise.

"I... I don't know, I don't see him," Chen replies.

"I have to get him," she tells them before disappearing and reappearing in the basement. It was an oven down there.

Kris was hanging by his wrists unconscious. He looked far worse than he had past time she saw him. He was trembling despite the cold. Jongin appears in front of her.

"AUTUMN, ARE YOU INSANE?!" he shouts, grabbing her wrist. She wrenches it out of his grasp and runs over to Kris.

"Yifan! Yifan, wake up!" she calls as she struggles with the chain, ignoring the fact that it was searing her hands. Jongin's arms wrap around her waist and he pulls her off.

"Autumn, we have to leave!" he yells. She struggles against him, her panic not letting her use his power.

"Jongin, I can't leave him!" she cries, tears slipping down her face.

She hadn't realized how much Kris mattered to her until now. She had buried her emotions for both him and Luhan to keep herself from guilty, and now it was all tumbling down on her in a wave of emotions.

"We have to leave him Autumn, only Suho could unlock those chains, he's the only one who has the keys!" Jongin yells. She finally pushes him off and whirls to face him.

"You take the others back to where we were," she orders, "I'll get the keys and meet you there!"

"Autumn, the flames will kill you!"

"I have Chanyeol's power, I'll be fine."

I hope...

"I won't let you do something this stupid and dangerous Autumn!"

"Would you save Baekhyun or Chen if Yifan were them?" she questions, "No matter how weird they are?"

"Of course I would Autumn," he huffs, "They're my family."

"And Yifan is mine," she tells him, then her voice becomes pleading, "Let me save my family Jongin. Please, don't make me leave him."

Jongin doesn't say anything for a few moments.

"Fine," he finally replies, "We'll be behind the restaurant we were eating in earlier."

She nods and he disappears. She teleports into Suho's office and immediately has to use Chanyeol's power to keep from dying instantly. She looks around and spots the keys hanging from a hook on the wall. She grabs them and gasps when they burn her already burned hands further. But she doesn't drop them until teleporting back to the basement. There, she drops them and freezes them over with Xiumin's power before picking them up again. She unlocks the bonds around Kris's wrist and he falls on her.

"Yifan?" she questions upon feeling his burning hot skin. He lets out a small moan in response. She teleports to where Jongin said and finds them waiting.

"Get some of the clothes you bought today out," she orders Zitao, who was the tallest among them. He pulls out pants and a shirt from one of his many shopping bags.

"Can you get him dressed?" she asks Chen, who nods after after recovering from his temporary shock and takes the sweaty, shivering boy from her and pulling the clothes on him. She turns to Baekhyun, who looked pissed.

"Are you insane?" he growls, "You could've gotten killed!"

"I know," she replies simply, "I didn't care."

"Why?"

"I couldn't leave him Baek," she tells him, "I'm sorry that I made you worry."

He shakes his head.

"I forgive you, just don't go and pull something like that again," he orders, she nods, "And one thing that you have to remember."

"What?"

"That boy," he points at Kris, "Is still our prisoner. And as such, while we will treat him with respect for the time being, any attempts to escape will be punished. Do you understand?"

She nods. He is silent then, massaging his temples.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know what to do now," he mutters, "I'm not a leader."

"First we need to find somewhere safe to stay," she directs, "Since the first place they'll look is high end hotels, we should stay in a motel, preferably not a chain. Also, we should pay in cash for everything, credit card use can be easily tracked."

Baekhyun looks at her in awe.

"How do you know that?"

"This isn't my first time running away from a bunch of psychos," she responds.

"I resent that statement!" Chen whines, hoisting Kris up. Zitao helps, avoiding contact with Chen.

"At the time it was true," she comments.

"Autumn, are we going to have to dye our hair and wear those contacts and makeup again?" Zitao asks.

"Most likely."

Zitao pouts and rubs his scalp.

"Can I not bleach it this time?"

"I don't know," she answers, "But we have to move fast."

Baekhyun's phone rings. He moves to answer it but she stops him.

"What are you doing?" he asks, "It's Sehun."

She looks at him warily. She hadn't seen Sehun being tied up. But still wasn't it a bit strange that he wasn't there even though he had been at home?

"If you answer it, we'll have to toss your phone just in case they're making him call."

"But what if he's not and he really escaped?"

"Tell him a location. We'll wait there in hiding. If he shows up alone, we'll show ourselves."

Baekhyun's eyes widen.

"Are you trying to suggest that he betrayed us?" he growls.

"It's a possibility," she replies, "Or somebody could be holding him hostage and be trying to use him to catch us."

"And what if that is the case, and he is being held captive. Are we just going to abandon him?" Chen asks.

"Of course not," she rolls her eyes, "I'll tell him that we're there and I'll grab him and go."

"You? What about us?" Jongin asks.

"You guys will be at the motel waiting."

"What?" Baekhyun asks.

"It's safer for you guys that way. I'd rather myself get caught than you all," she replies.

They are silent after that. Baekhyun's phone had long stopped ringing. Chen's starts up.

"It says Sehun," he informs.

She nods, "Put it on speaker phone."