Breathe ⭐️ Reddie

34

They arrived in Hawkins when it was still dark. They decided to park in the woods outside and split into teams, each in charge of the same task in different parts of town: inquire about the lab and then find it themselves. Once the sun rose, they took off to see what they could find.

Eddie, Richie, and Mike were supposed to cover the main downtown. They walked past the neighborhoods in the area to the empty downtown streets, where boarded up shops laid.

"It's like a ghost town," Richie said, kicking an empty can on the side of the road.

"Let's find an open shop and see what we can find out," Mike said, walking towards a convenience store with an open sign in the window.

The bell rang as the three walked in. The air smelled smoky and everything seemed to be out of place and there were items all over the ground. A man sat behind the counter and looked up at them.

"Mike, how good to see you!" the man behind the counter said with a grin.

Eddie and Richie looked at Mike, then back to the man. The man's gaze, however, was not fixed on Mike. It was fixed on Richie.

"When did you get glasses, son?" the man asked, squinting at Richie.

"I, uh," Richie looked over at Eddie who nodded for him to play along. "A few weeks ago."

"You didn't have 'em on when you came in a few days ago."

"I got... contact lenses but lost one, so I'm stuck with glasses for now."

The man nodded, seemingly convinced. "How's your sister and friends holding up? With the Byers leaving town it must've been rough for you all. I know it's been harder here without Joyce."

"Yeah, I've, uh, really missed them," Richie said, glancing at his friends.

"Yes, we all have. Anyway, who are your friends? I haven't seen them around here before," the man said, squinting at Eddie and Mike.

"Uh, this is Toby and Mark. My friends from California. They're staying here for a bit, and, uh, wanted to see the downtown area."

"Not much to see around here with the mall renovations. After it got destroyed on the fourth, we've had a lot of donations. You've been there, right?"

Eddie decided to cut in. "We were going there next. Actually, I had a couple of questions about this town, and Mike doesn't know anything," Eddie said with a smile, playfully punching Richie's arm. "I was wondering about the lab. Everyone's saying it was closed down because of radioactivity but I'm not a local. Do you know anything?"

The man seemed to think for a minute, before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "Been closed down for a while now. After all that business with the toxic leak and the Byers boy going missing. Chief Hopper made sure it stayed closed down, but there have been rumors about other stuff happening in there."

Eddie nodded. "This chief, is there any way we could ask him some questions about it?"

The man shook his head. "He's dead. Right, Mike?"

"Uh, yeah," Richie muttered.

"Listen Toby, if you know what's good for you, you'll ignore that lab. Everything about that place is dangerous. People die and there's rumors of people with abilities escaping that place. Mike, you're one of the locals here. You should know more than anyone, right?" The man's eyes were narrowed. He seemed to be less and less convinced he was talking to whoever Mike was.

"Thank you for your time," Eddie said, grabbing Richie's hand and leaving, Mike following them closely.

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