Chapter thirty-two 

 Lights

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"What is it?" Suho frowned. "What did you find?"

"It's a shirt." Chanyeol handed it to Suho. "Ga Eun's shirt."

Suho took the shirt from Chanyeol and sniffed it slightly before handing it to the others. They turned to see Chanyeol crouching down and picking up a small piece of paper before frowning. He sighed as he passed it to Baekhyun who shook his head. Kai snatched it from Baekhyun's hands before giving it to Suho.

"What is it?" Sehun complained. "Why didn't I get to see it?"

"Because it's in Chinese." Baekhyun replied. "I doubt you can read it."

"What does it say?" Kai looked over Suho's shoulder. "Can you read it?"

"A little." Suho's eyebrows furrowed. "But it's too much for me."

"So we're at a dead end?" Chanyeol sighed. "Again?"

"I don't think so." Suho shook his head. "We just need to ask someone to translate it for us."

"And what happens after that?" Sehun asked. "Where do we go from there?"

"Is this the only thing you found?" Baekhyun frowned. "What if it's another trap?"

"Then we risk it." Kai nodded. "What else have we got to lose?"

"It might not be anything important." Chanyeol cleared his throat. "We're better off chasing after them."

"No." Suho argued. "They didn't have enough time to plan something else."

Suho slipped the paper inside his pocket and turned towards the house. He looked over at Kai who hovered behind the group and nodded as he began to search the area once again. Chanyeol and Baekhyun slipped besides him and ran back to the house while Sehun and Kai trailed behind them.

They quickly made it to the house and stepped inside to look for any clues. Chanyeol noticed a small map that laid tattered on the floor and handed it to Sehun who was holding onto a book. Baekhyun went upstairs with Kai to see if they had left anything behind.

"Here's a translation book hyung." Sehun handed it to Suho. "Maybe you can figure it out then?"

Suho smiled at Sehun and patted his head before skimming through the book. After several failed attempts, he managed to figure out the message. He looked up to see the members staring at him with burning eyes. Baekhyun quickly grabbed the map from Suho's hand and helped Kai figure out the location.

"It's not that far from here." Chanyeol glanced over their shoulders. "Less than a day's walk."

"It could be a trap." Sehun murmured. "What should we do?"

"I don't think so." Kai frowned. "They have Ga Eun with them. They can't afford to take her around."

"Her scent will be everywhere." Baekhyun agreed. "It'll make it easier for us to find them."

"So what do we do?" They insisted. 

Suho furrowed his eyebrows and took a deep sigh as he tried to figure out what was going on. He knew that the chances of them being at the location written on the paper was slim but he didn't have any other options. It was only a matter of time before they slipped away once again.

Ga Eun was too close for them to lose her once again.

"We can make it in less than an hour." Suho looked up at the group. "We might get a bit dirty."

••••••••••••

"Where's Lay and Kyungsoo?"

"I thought they were here already."

Kris brushed back his hair as he counted the members once again. Lay had been by his side before disappearing. He knew that Kyungsoo had been right behind him before leaving his sight. He stared intently at the woods before sighing in relief as Kyungsoo and Lay stepped out. Their clothes were dirty and torn but they were still safe.

"What happened?" Xiumin asked. "I thought you were ahead of us."

"I accidently fell." Kyungsoo shrugged. "I couldn't see well."

"What about you?" Chen stared at Lay. "Did you fall too?"

"I helped Kyungsoo get up." Lay smiled. "We didn't want him to get hurt, right?"

"Of course." Tao rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't want that."

Kyungsoo threw his backpack on the ground before following after Kris and the others. His eyes grew wide when he noticed the large house in front of him. Kris stepped forwards and unlocked the door before ushering everyone inside. He made sure the curtains were closed tightly before turning on the lights.

"We're home." He smiled. "Well for now."

"What is this place?" Kyungsoo asked. "How did you find it?"

"It's ours." Tao shrugged. "We have some more all over China."

"It was our first house." Xiumin nodded. "It's the smallest one."

"You have got to be kidding." Kyungsoo gasped. "This is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible my dear friend." Chen wrapped his arm around Kyungsoo. "Nothing at all."

"How long will we stay here?" Lay settled himself on the dusty couch. "Where do we go after this?"

"We're going to lure them away deeper into China." Kris chuckled. "Then we're going to escape and go someplace else."

"Where?" Xiumin asked. "Back to Korea?"

"I was thinking more like Canada." 

Kyungsoo jumped in surprise when his phone rang. He quickly answered the call and breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and patiently waited to hear the voice on the other side.

"I miss you." Kyungsoo smiled. "I still can't believe you're not here."

"When are you coming back?" Ga Eun whispered. "I miss you so much."

"Just wait a little bit longer."

"You always say that."

"That's because." Kyungsoo chuckled. "I mean it."

"I'll wait." She sighed. "I'll wait for you and the others."

"Don't worry." Kyungsoo clicked his tongue. "I'll be back before you know it."

Kyungsoo waited for her to respond when the lights to the house went off. He looked up to see the group jump up in surprise before going into a fighting position. He looked at Kris who scanned the area through the window blinds.

"I'll call you later." Kyungsoo turned back to the phone. "I promise."

"What happened?" Her voice grew urgent. "Did something happen?"

"I love you." He smiled. "I mean it."

He turned towards Chen who stood besides him as he glanced at the woods outside. Tao and Xiumin were already waiting by the back door just in case. Meanwhile Lay waited patiently by the stairs to make sure that the second floor was covered.

"Is it a blackout?" Lay called out. "Or the lightbulbs?"

Before anyone could answer, they stood frozen in shock and fear. The wind rustled against the windows to make an eerie sound that filled the silence. Their hearts pounded against their chests as they heard the sound again.

Howling.

••••••••••••

"I think something happened."

"How do you know?"

Her footsteps grew louder as she paced back and forth. Luhan stared in amusement as herr hair grew more tangled every time she ran her hands through it. It didn't help that she kept calling Kyungsoo's phone only to find it go to voicemail.

"What if they found them?" Her eyes grew wide. "What if something bad happened?"

"It's China." Luhan gathered her in his arms. "The reception there is terrible."

"Are you sure? How do you know?"

"You're only making yourself scared." Luhan sighed. "The more you overthink, the more your imagination will run wild."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"They're safe. They're not weak people Ga Eun. They can take care of themselves."

Luhan rested his head on hers and brushed back yher hair. He knew Ga Eun was worried and that she wasn't sleeping on purpose. The nightmares that she had barely managed to forget came rushing back. The pain from before was so tangible that she could feel it all over her body. She was scared and even having Luhan by her side wasn't helping.

"That's right." Ga Eun nodded. "They're not weak."

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 author's note 

»LEAVE COMMENTS GUYS! OR ELSE! TRUST ME, YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT I WILL DO!! PLEASE!?!?

Also, does the story seem like it's going too fast? I'm trying my best to not rush anything but I feel I'm not doing a very good job. Just a few more chapters guys. I think.