a/n: Sorry for all these short chapters, guys! I wanted to give you all a few updates. It'll be a bit until the next update, I'm afraid. But I have big plans for this story so I hope you all will stay with me ^^ In the meantime, enjoy~

     Kris stepped out of the grocery store, arms heavy with bags of food--mostly eggs and fish--and started down the street. When he left, the sun had just barely began peeking over the horizon. Now, it shone in the sky, and Kris could hear the world waking up and the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling the streets. Soon, the world would come alive, full of people shuffling to coffee shops, work offices, and schools. But for now, all was silent.

     The man at the grocery store told Kris that there was a street vendor right down the road who sold baozis. It was the last thing on Kris’ grocery list; once he bought these, he could go back to the apartment and maybe eat some more. He was glad when the street vendor came in sight; at this point, he just wanted to go home.

     The stall was run by an old Chinese man with hands rough and red from old burns and scars. He was slightly stooped and bald, with a fuzzy gray mustache, and when he talked it was with the gruff, stony authority of a man who had seen much and had patience for little. As he was packing up the buns, Kris noticed the headline of a Chinese newspaper the man had been reading:  “TWO BODIES CONFIRMED TO BE MARRIED COUPLE, SON’S WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN”.

     “What’s this? Kris asked. The headline unnerved him for some reason, and he prayed that, like Luhan said, he was worrying over nothing.

     “Oh, that? News from back home,” the old man grunted, “About a week ago, two bodies were found at the bottom of a river--a man and a woman, sliced up something terrible. Turns out, they were married with a boy, but he’s up and vanished and nobody--not even them professionals--know where he went. Some say he killed ‘em and ran, but most think he’s lying at the bottom of some other river,” he explained when he saw Kris’ questioning stare. He shook his head, “Just when you thought you’ve seen it all...”

     “What...what do you think?” Kris asked, his insides clenching.

     “Me? Well...if he’s dead, then it’s damn pitiful, and if he killed them, then it’s damn terrifying. No one--especially no 18 year old kid--should be able to do THAT to anyone, ‘specially his own flesh n’ blood. It ain’t human,” the old man replied, handing Kris the box of buns, “You’re from China, right? You should read it for yourself then--go ahead! Take it! I don’t want that damn headline staring at me all day. It’s downright horrific, what happened to those poor folks,” he said, snatching up the newspaper and ing it into Kris’ hands.

     “I-uhm...thanks,” Kris said, giving the man a shaky bow. His legs twitched, screaming at him to drop the newspaper and run.

     “The world ain’t pretty, kid. Remember that,” the man said. Kris bowed and thanked him again before running off, hoping he didn’t seem suspicious to the old man.

     Once he felt far enough away from the baozi stand, he slipped into a small alley and flipped open the paper, scanning through the story. As he read, the sinking dread in his stomach turned to rising panic and terror; it was much worse than what he had imagined.

     Under the headline was a big picture split in half. On the left side was a picture of two smiling parents and a happy little boy, his huge eyes full of the excitement and wonder of childhood. On the right side was a grotesque picture of two dead bodies--a man and a woman--bloated from water and covered in red slashes. Their faces had been marred beyond recognition, and even their fingers had been cut off to prevent any fingerprint identification. After some forensics and other things Kris didn’t really understand--something about comparing the DNA of the bodies to the DNA of certain missing persons--the bodies were finally identified as Mr. and Mrs. Lu, who had been missing for three weeks along with their yet-to-be-discovered son.

     Kris gulped, folding the newspaper and tucking it into his coat pocket.There was only one person in the world who could handle a knife well enough to slash up his victims so well and meticulously.

     Kris drew the collar of his long, black coat around his face, afraid someone would see the guilt on his face and report him. He wanted nothing more than to sink deep into the shadows and away from people’s eyes, and run away, far away from the city and everyone in it. But that was impossible. Someone would notice his absence. Someone would come looking for him. Someone would find him. He had gone too far to escape now.

    So he walked back to the apartment as slowly as he could, wondering what turned Luhan from the cute, innocent five year old in the photo to a person who could cut his parents to pieces and cast their corpses into a river.