Hell and Back (EXO x Reader)

Test Tubes (Trials 61-70) [Part 2]

Word count: 1922

Chapter warnings: Mild language, themes, and violence

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They all stared as the structure was revealed. Chen standing in front of all the glass tubes. It was more simple than she expected, in all honesty. It made up a long chamber, about the same height as the vats, with a wall-less floor situated about seven feet up. Underneath this floor, there was a pool of water, fairly high, but with room to breath should one fall in. On the upper half, there were several pillar, between which lied very, very thin strips of what appeared to be wire. She could barely see them from her position- in fact, she wouldn't have noticed them at all if not for the glinting light.

They were razor thin wires, likely sharp. The more she stared, she also realized that the light reflecting off the water was rather patchy, suggesting that there were holes in the maze's floor. The object was evident- to get all the way through without killing themself on the wires or drowning in the water. Thankfully, although difficult, it didn't look impossible. If Chen was able to make it, they could pick two more people and get out before things really got hard. The only problem was, even if Chen survived, if he wasn't able to make it to the other side, he'd be forced to drop out, costing them another strong member, as well as their lightning powers. Granted, they hadn't used them up until that point, but that was statistically all the more reason to make sure he got through.

Noting the thin entry on the far left side of the wall, Chen took a deep breath, striding towards it with the confidence of a man who had nothing to lose. Funny, seeing as how he still had plenty to lose, but she wasn't going to stop him. Entering in, he climbed up what she could only guess was a ladder, entering the platform at the center. She held her hand against the glass of her own vat, trying to see through the milk.

In a sort of experiment, Chen grabbed the only thing he'd kept on him- his flashlight (his phone must have still been on the floor somewhere from when he pressed the drop out button) - he threw it into the mix of wires. against all expectations, it at first seemed to not hit a single one. He could have sworn he'd aimed properly, but it didn't bounce back at all. Looking down into the water, though, he could see that it was because the item had been sliced clean in half.

"Oh, shit." He muttered under his breath. These were sharper than he'd anticipated. Originally, when he'd seen it, he'd been banking on the thought that it would be sort of like barbed wire. If you pressed up against it, it would hurt like hell, sure, but in this scenario, he could take his head clean off before he'd even realized what had happened. And honestly, knowing the trials, there was no way that the water was actually just water, right?

Taking a deep breath in courage, he stepped between the first two visible wires, past a hole in the floor. Almost immediately, he yelped out in pain. Looking to his left arm, he saw a broad scrape running down the smooth expanse of his skin. He must have brushed past a wire that he couldn't even see. Trying to get under it, he ended up cutting himself again, this time more severely, causing him to stumble forward in pain. She could barely see what was going on, but she at least noticed when he fell through the floor down into the water.

The boys began yelling his name, trying to make out what was going on, receiving no response. Frantically, she tried to reach for the handle, but suddenly, she was unable to move. Her whole body had become cold, stopping her in place, almost as if she had been... Realizing, she shot her gaze to Xiumin, who was looking at her apologetically and yet demandingly.

"You can't go out there."

"I have to see if Chen's okay!"

"No, as soon as you leave your vat, you'll have to do the same thing, I'm not going to let that happen." Reaching for his own handle, he was thrown out of the glass tube as he spilled out along with the blood. It made for a disgusting sight, but thankfully, he was relatively fine. When he stood to look around, he saw Chanyeol next to him as well.