As it turned out, we didn't need to worry about that. A surprise waited for us at the clearing the next day. 

"You guys are surprisingly hard to track down," Vernon chirped brightly from where he was perched on a rock by the stream. He jumped up when we approached, narrowly avoiding the splash of water Mingyu accidentally sent up in surprise. "Woah," he mumbled when a few icy droplets managed to hit him anyway. 

"Holy , kid!" Seungkwan dramatically clutched his chest. "Where did you come from? And who are you?" 

"Oh, sorry," Vernon looked like an embarrassed lost puppy when he stuck his hand out for Seungkwan to shake. "I'm Vernon. I'm new to the team." 

Seungkwan shook his hand while eyeing him warily. "Pleasure," he mused absentmindedly. "I'm--," 

"Seungkwan." Vernon finished for him. "You make forcefields. I know. And that's Jun and Minghao. I got it."

Vernon spoke quickly and erratically. Like he was an energizer bunny and radio rolled into one and someone was messing with the antenna, causing him to tune in and out. If it was unnerving for me, who had dealt with him before, I could only imagine the others' reaction. 

"How the hell--" Minghao began but was also cut off by Vernon. 

"I'm Mei's newest bond. I'm a mind reader. And no, Minghao, it wasn’t forced upon me."

Minghao had the good grace to shocked and even a little bit ashamed. "I didn't--"

"I know."

"It doesn't matter." Everyone shut their mouths and turned their gazes toward me. "Let's just get started. Hoshi, Vernon, you're up." 

Vernon didn't hesitate. He skitted into a position in the clearing and waited nervously for something else to happen. Hoshi, on the other hand, was completely relaxed and uncaring when he found his own spot. 

"You ready?" He asked Vernon, who started moving before he even finished his question. 

I felt like I had suddenly been thrown into a supernatural horror movie. The sky got dark within seconds. The air tingled in a way that made my stomach drop. I felt like the whole world was moving in slow mo