Breathe ⭐️ Reddie

35

The masks of the attackers had been removed and their fake guns and slingshot were taken away. Sitting on the ground was a girl with long red hair, a boy with dark skin, a boy with curly hair, and Mike Wheeler. All of the teenagers sitting on the ground glared at the Hive members, who didn't have any reaction, whispering among themselves.

"We can't trust shit he says," Bev snarled.

"He knows who the test subject is, Bev," Mike Hanlon responded.

"He could be lying. I mean, look at them. They came after us with fake guns and a slingshot. They're not part of any organization. I'll bet he's lying to protect the other losers that followed him along."

Ben shook his head. "Maybe he is. The thing is, he lives here and he wanted us away from the lab and was willing to go four against seven to keep us away. He's gotta know something."

Richie hadn't said anything. He kept glancing back at Mike Wheeler, thinking. He knew that his dad had affairs in the past. "Could we be related or is this a weird coincidence?" he thought to himself.

"You alright?" Eddie whispered to Richie. He had noticed Richie's consistent glances towards the boy sitting on the floor feet away from him.

"Yeah, let's just get what we need and leave," Richie responded in a low voice.

The seven all stood in a line, arms crossed, focused on the teenagers sitting on the ground in front of them.

Eddie was the first to speak. "Who is test subject eleven? Unlike you four, we carry real guns, so consider that we only need one of you for answers." His voice was dark, making Richie's eyes widen. Eddie usually spoke with a sarcastic tone; he had never heard that cruel voice from him.

"What do you want with her?" Mike Wheeler asked, not breaking. He didn't believe that they were in immediate danger.

Bev narrowed her eyes and walked over behind the girl with red hair. They looked as though they could be sisters, with their red hair and angry looks. Bev pulled her up by her arm and put her knife to her throat. Mike didn't speak, but he tensed up.

"Who is she?" Bev asked, pressing the blade to the girl's throat even harder.

"Let her go and I'll tell you!" the boy with the darker skin said quickly, earning a scowl from Mike.

Bev looked to Eddie and Stan, waiting for their order. Eddie gave a brief nod and Bev pushed the girl to the ground and leaned against the wall behind her.

The boy with dark skin lifted the girl's chin to look at whatever damage had been caused and sighed in relief when he saw no blood, just a red line from the metal.

"We've let her go, now tell us," Stan said, getting impatient.

"Eleven was one of our friends, but she moved away. She doesn't live here anymore," the boy said, watching as Mike Wheeler glared at him.

"What relation did she have with that lab?"

"She was..." the boy looked over to Mike again, who was shaking his head.

"Don't look at him. It won't protect you. If you all want to make it out of here alive, I suggest you keep talking," Eddie snapped.

"Don't tell them anything, Lucas. We promised," Mike Wheeler said.

The dark skin boy, Lucas, looked at Mike with an expression of disbelief. "They didn't hold guns to our heads and knives to our throats when we promised, dumbass!"

"Can we kill one of them now?" Stan asked Eddie in an undertone. "They did technically threaten us so it is kind of self defense."

"I thought you were against making a mess?" Eddie asked, eyebrows raised.

"This isn't really a set mission, it's us just improvising, and they know something."

Richie grabbed Eddie's arm. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" Eddie asked, watching Mike and Lucas continue to yell at each other.

"Take one of them to another room and keep them from talking. Shoot somewhere in the room to fake that we killed on of them and we'll get our answers," Richie said in a low voice.

Eddie made eye contact with Stan who nodded approvingly. "Take their leader. It'll break the others, and I can tell you want to ask him some questions that aren't related to our mission, right?"

Richie shrugged. "It can't be coincidence."

"Then take him."

Richie took in a shaky breath and walked forward, grabbing Mike's arm roughly and pulling him away to a different room in the house. The others on the ground protested but went silent when they saw the weapons that the other Hive members held.

"Where're you taking him?" the girl asked, eyes darting between the teens and the hallway that Richie had dragging Mike down.

No one responded, and a few minutes later the pop of a gun could be heard from a few rooms over.

"You bastards!" the boy with curly hair yelled. He started to stand, only for Lucas to pull him back down.

"Tell us what we want to know, or one of you is next." Stan spoke in a firm voice, trying to make the whole situation seem real.

Lucas sighed and his companions both looked at him, worry in their eyes.

"Lucas, don't tell them," the girl said.

"We know that El can protect herself, and if not Joyce and Will can. This is life or death, Max," Lucas said, glaring at Stan and Eddie who stood side by side, expecting answers.

"Eleven is one of our friends. She has these mind powers and she will kill each and every single one of you when she finds out what you did to Mike."

Eddie didn't pay any mind to the obvious threat. "What relation does she have with that lab?"

"She was born there. Actually, raised there. Some psycho scientist tried to get her to use her powers and eventually opened a tear in dimensions, which she closed. On the fourth there was an attack with some monster from the other realm and she moved away with one of our other friends because her adopted dad died during the attack."

The room was quiet for a few minutes, until Bev scoffed. "You seriously expect us to believe that she has powers? Jesus, kill another one of them. Maybe we'll get the truth if we do it right in front of them."

"No, he's telling the truth! I didn't believe it at first either!" the girl, Max, yelled. "They would do these brain scan things to tell how much power she was using and it's not well known because of the government trying to keep it quiet!"

Bev scoffed again, spinning her knife in her hand when something clicked in Eddie's head. "Wait, brain scans?"

Max nodded urgently as Eddie opened her folder, pulling out the scans.

"Like these?" he asked, showing the group the pictures.

"I guess so."

"Keep them here, I'm going to check on Richie," Eddie said to Stan, walking down the hallway.