Hell and Back (EXO x Reader)

Canyon Birds (Trial 21)

Word count: 1894

Chapter warnings: Dangerous actions

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

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"Alright, the limited power is Suho this time." Y/N said, finally having calmed down from their not-so-joyride.

"Luhan was originally going to go, so why not have him do it now?" Sehun pointed out.

"Uh-" Luhan started to sau, before Kyungsoo agreed.

"Yes, that would make the most sense."

"I don't know if I-"

"Alright, Y/N, hit the button," Kris said, trying to get a move-on as quickly as possible. Noting his nervousness, Y/N leaned over, muttering a small bit of reassurance.

"Luhan, the sooner you do the challenge, the sooner it will be out of the way. They get harder, so the longer you wait, the worse it's going to get. It's your second challenge, you're almost there." He breathed in.

"Yeah, I guess, but still... I have a bad feeling about this."

"We'll keep you safe, don't worry."

"I... If you say so." Making brief eye contact with her, she realized that he was even just slightly shaking. Was he actually that scared? She put a hand on his shoulder, nodding, then clicked on his name. Watching it load up, she called everyone back to attention.

"Alright, the next trial is... Parkour?"

"That sounds like fun." Baekhyun shrugged.

She looked over at Luhan, who was now completely white.

"Are you okay?" She whispered.

"I- I can't- that's not-" His hands were tangled together, knuckles pale with the pressure he was putting on his own skin. He was obviously trying to get the words out, but he was just stuttering over and over, practically zoned out.

"He'll be fine," Kris waved a hand. "What's the rest of the challenge say?"

"Uh," she looked down. "The price of dropping out is still... 'failure', whatever that means. The italics..." she squinted to see them. "Apparently there are a few bridges nearby. We need to pick one, and he can cross it by jumping between the beams on one of the outer edges."

"That explains why Suho is out." Kyungsoo mentioned, always analyzing the reasoning behind each challenge. "If it's a bridge, there's water underneath, so he'd be at an advantage." Kris continued driving, pulling onto a left turn. He evidently knew where the nearest bridge was. As it was becoming late afternoon, there were periodic cars, but it didn't seem like anyone would bother them.

Everyone started to get out of the car, although Luhan remained in place. She looked to him, then out the window at the bridge. Just as the app had said the sides were lined with support beams, although they weren't very deep. Or sturdy. It wouldn't be impossible to make it across, just very, very difficult. He'd have to focus.

"What's so bad, Luhan?" she asked in a low voice, trying to make it not seem like a big deal. "Even if Suho can't use his powers, we still have Sehun with wind, Kris with flight, and Kai with teleportation. Even past that, Tao can reverse time if something bad happens, or you could even use your powers on yourself." It was ironic how just moments before she had been complaining about the reliance on their powers, but now she was trying to use it to calm Luhan down.