Hell and Back (EXO x Reader)

Cake Walk (Trial 22)

Word count: 1050

Chapter warnings: Mild language and Dangerous actions

[Please do not replicate any of the behaviors read in this book.]

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Kris finished Luhan's trial for him. As per the game rules, if someone left the trials, their level would be completed by someone else, and they would receive the penalty. Of course, since they knew what the trial was, it was much easier to pick a competitor, letting Kris fly from one beam to the next, lightly touching base with his foot on each. It was finished in a matter of seconds.

Luhan had declined a ride, or to stay with them for the rest of the trials. He concluded that he would just be a bother, and that he would rather not watch all of them get into worse trouble. He begged them to drop out too, but everyone was simply dead set on getting a wish. Still, she was concerned about the catch. The fee. If the fees continued to get worse, whatever 'failure' was must have been at least more than $1,000 worth of damage. What could it be, though? The game had been so cryptic. She'd have to try and keep in contact with him if at all possible.

"Ugh, this is giving me a headache." Kyungsoo groaned, already stressed that they were down to 12 players. He probably knew that the more people they had, the easier things would be, and they had lost the power of Luhan's telekineses. Jokingly, Kai pulled his bottle of Tylenol out of his pocket.

"Acetaminophen?" He offered.

"No one calls it that you fucking nerd." Baekhyun said with a laugh. She had almost forgotten that they had selected items. Putting a hand to her pocket lightly, she felt to make sure her knife was still there. This also meant they lost whatever Luhan had. Thinking back, she realized that it had been a gun, remembering how unsettling it had been for her. It was definitely not the most optimal situation to be in.

"Alright, well who wants to go next?" Suho asked, continually leading the group for the most part. He was obviously not that happy about Luhan either, but he wanted to move past it as quickly as possible. She was almost annoyed at this, as they just watched their friend have a nervous breakdown. Now they were just gonna ignore it? Still, she cut in.

"I think I maybe should g-"

"I can do it." Chen interrupted her, acting as if he hadn't even heard her.

"Hold on, I-"

"Sounds good," Suho talked over her as well. Crossing her arms, she looked at the both of them, but they didn't even make eye contact with her. They only addressed her when they had to ask for her to press Chen's name for the trial. She decided to hold her tongue, only because of the recent events. She found it slightly ironic that she had power in the things she didn't even get a say in, like the people doing the solo trials, but she didn't have the authority to stop Luhan from leaving. If only she could have had a few more seconds to talk him out of it...

"Y/N?" Chen asked. "Are you ready?" Snapping out of her thoughts, she pulled the app back out.

"Yeah, yeah-" Hitting his name, she waited for it to load. "It says to balance on the edge of the river near the bridge."

"That's it?" He asked, eyebrows slanting slightly. "Who's the limited ability?"

"Sehun."

"Did the drop-out fee change?" Kyungsoo asked. Looking down, she read the details again.

"Uh, no. Why?"

"I don't know..." he said, already mentally launching into several new theories. "I thought that maybe once someone dropped out and paid the fee that it would change."

"Woah, it's kinda windy, isn't it?" They heard a voice from over near the bridge. In her conversation with Suho, she had failed to realize that Chen had already made his way to the edge of the cliff, standing with his arms out, trying to balance. He was swaying back and forth slightly, unnerved by the force of the air around him.

"That makes sense why I'm limited, then." Sehun said idly.

"How long do I have to do this for?" He asked, more bored than worried. Looking at the app, she had to click out of a warning to read the requirements.

"Two minutes. And you need to be closer."

"Huh?"

"It says you need to be closer to the edge."

"Still? I'm practically falling off already."

"I think that's the point." Lay said idly, watching suspiciously as he toed the edge.

"Better?" She nodded.

"Yeah, the timer started." He was left wobbling back and forth in the breeze, slowly psyching himself out by looking down at the river. About a minute of the way through, he leaned too far forward, causing his foot to slip, but he thankfully caught it on a root sticking out of the edge. It stabilized him rather than tripping him, but his eyes widened. He was silent for the rest of the challenge. As soon as his two minutes were up, he gladly backed away.

"Not too bad." He breathed. "But I see what Luhan means. This isn't exactly the best situation to put ourselves in."

"What does it matter?" Kris asked. "We've all got powers. I could have caught you, or Kai. Or Suho could have caught you in the water. This is gonna be a cakewalk, it's more tedious than anything."

"If it's so tedious, why don't you go next?" Xiumin offered, arms also crossed. Kris shook his head.

"Hell, no. They get more fun as they go one, right? So I want my second turn to be last. No more boring shit. Why don't you go."

"Stop fighting, you two." Suho held out his hands. "I'll go next. Who's limited, Y/N?"

"Kai."

"Teleportation... that's not a good one to lose." Tao muttered.

"Your powers are killer, man," Chanyeol said, harshly hitting him on the back and startling him. "Plus, all twelve of-" He paused. "Eleven of us have abilities, I'm sure it'll be fine. I agree with Kris, we need to stop worrying. Y/N, what's Suho's challenge?"

"Uh..." She clicked into the app once more, trying to figure out exactly what she was looking at. "It says to jump out in front of a car."