The funhouse of murder • Stray Kids X reader

96 ☠️

Earth and air? First water and fire, and now this? What was this, some type of book, with us going through all the elements and gaining powers? I remembered liking those kind of ideas as a kid, but this was a life or death situation, not some funny joke. "What are we thinking?" Changbin asked, glancing around at the rest, clearly also annoyed with the situation. He too must have thought it would be over already. "I don't think they'd give us the same things twice since the zones seem to be getting harder and harder, so for earth we can rule out a desert or rainforest, and for air they probably won't give us tornados again," Minho observed. Though I had to agree, just the thought of being caught in one of them again gave me the chills.

"I'd say we go for earth," I proposed, not even truly thinking about it, but making it up as I was speaking. "Whatever air will be, we already know that it's deadly, given how it almost killed me and and Seungmin. If there is a strong wind hose blowing us against those fences, no doubt we'd be electrocuted, so that's double the risk. If we simply go through earth as fast as we can I think we'll be able to avoid most of the trouble, won't we? Maybe get some heavy terrain, rocks, whatever. Climbing would be easier than flying."

Everything I said was just speculation at this point, and yet I was adamant on choosing earth. Air reminded me of Seungmin too much, and I don't think I'd truly gotten over his death yet. I pushed it down, oppressing the feeling, but one wrong event and I'd be a mess all over again. I couldn't have that now. "Let's rest first, shall we?" Minho said, glancing at Jisung. Wasn't anyone going to object? "First rest, then earth it is then," Chan concluded as no one seemed to think otherwise, though I don't think most of them were in the right headspace to truly think things through. At least not for Jisung or Jeongin, who was now asleep on Changbin's back. He already dodged death twice in here, it must be taking a toll on him. Though time was getting by quickly, we definitely needed the rest after just now.

When we entered the door again, both sides were yet again visible. And yet, to our surprise, what we had just stated before could not be less true. Whereas our side now had the looks of a rainforest, with nothing but sand as our ground, the other side already seemed to have a strong wind, the trees on the other side already being ripped out of the ground. And this probably wasn't even the worst part yet. "So far so good I'd say," Hyunjin mumbled, being the first one to go in. We all started walking, often having to hit away some of the plants. I think moments like these made me remember we were only in an artificially made scenery. There was no way these plants and trees would normally last long without the proper soil or rain.

"Is it me, or does it feel like we're on a beach somehow?" Chan noted, quickly pulling his feet up. Every time I put a foot down, it's like it's instantly falling into the sand." I'd never been to a beach before, but I could understand what he meant. As soon as my foot was on the sand, it almost got swallowed if I didn't instantly lift it up again. "I'm not liking the looks of this," Changbin agreed, being heavier with Jeongin on his back. "I think it might only be on certain points," Minho chimed in. "I just had it too, but now I think I'm fine," he added for clarification. "That's because it's quicksand. Loads of small puddles of them," Jisung spoke softly, yet instantly making everyone whip their heads around to him.

How did we not think about that earlier? Right, it made so much more sense. "You can tell the difference?" Chan asked, a careful hope showing on his face. "Of course, it's not that hard," Jisung continued, carefully placing his steps. "Quicksand has these tiny little holes and bubbles in them, whereas normal sand is just, well, sandy." Though I've been skeptical and quite frankly not too happy he'd been with us at times, I couldn't be more thankful right now he was here. "How did you know?" I asked him, for a moment forgetting he resented me, until I was once again reminded by a dirty look. "I just saw it on TV, that's all," he curtly replied, not sparing me any further attention. Maybe it was because I was exhausted, or maybe I'd just never been good at spotting things, but it seemed nearly impossible to see the difference.

"Do we make a line again, like we did at the beginning? Back when there was still the danger of bombs around?" Changbin asked, but Chan shook his head. "I don't think such a tightly formed line would be smart since it's all around us, but I'd definitely say we follow in Jisung's footsteps." It wasn't hard to spot Changbin's annoyance as he was once again overruled, but Chan didn't even seem to notice it, too focused on making sure I was in fact still okay. "Sung, are you okay with being in the lead?" Minho asked him, as usual checking up on him. Jisung simply hummed, already continuing like it was nothing, us soon following his every move.

"Say, is it me again, or is it getting dark fast?" Chan asked once again, quickly making us notice the shift in daylight. Well, rather a studiolight, portraying as either the sun or moon. "I can't tell anything if it gets dark," Jisung whined, like a small child unable to do a small task. "There's an open field here that's okay though, so I'm not moving until the sun rises again. I'm going to sleep." Minho and I exchanged glances, the both letting out a small sigh. I could get why Minho would want to be freed from him. "I guess we're getting some good nights sleep then," Chan stated, trying his best to appear calm. "I'll be first to keep watch, Hyunjin and Y/N, you'll be up next. Changbin and Jeongin, you're third, and lastly Minho and Jisung. Okay?"

Not okay, because I was about to spend about 2 hours awake with someone who seemed to still hate me. Yay me.