Breathe ⭐️ Reddie

58

Y'all are lucky I found time to write today :) last update probably for today but there's more to come :)

Love you all so much!!!

In the silence of the room where Richie sat, he felt himself shaking with anger and sadness. He and Eddie were supposed to escape. They were going to be free of the Hive, safe from constant death threats. They were going to be happy.

All Richie could think of as he input the new coordinates was Eddie. How he saved him from his terrible life, the quarry, the escape, how he always could make Richie laugh... all of it. The smile that graced his face even when he was upset, his weird germaphobic tendencies when they were completely unnecessary.

"I didn't even say goodbye," Richie whispered to himself, his voice cracking in the process as tears dripped down his cheeks.

He typed in the coordinates, knowing he had to push the button before people managed to get inside and stop him. The red button seemed to be talking to him, telling him to push it. It shone brightly, it would be the button that saved the country.

Richie walked over and sat in front of it after inputting the coordinates of the Hive base he sat inside, staring at it with hatred and fear.
He put his thumb on it, closing his eyes.

"This is for your freedom, Eds," he mumbled, pushing down his thumb for launch.

As soon as he did it, he tried to find a hiding spot, one that he'd hopefully be able to survive the explosion if he hid in it. He had four minutes, and the odds did not look good.

•••

The first thing that registered in Eddie's mind when he woke up was talking around him. Lots of people mumbling to each other, walking across what sounded like a hard floor.

The second thing that registered was that his arms and legs were laying on a cold surface while his head was laying on something soft and warm.

Eddie allowed his eyes to flutter open, and he saw a patch of red hair and Bev's blue eyes looking down at him.

"Bev?" he croaked, confused and dazed.

"Hey, cutie. Are you feeling alright?" she asked softly, gently ruffling his hair.

Eddie sat up and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He saw a lot of people, all with dark sunglasses and dark outfits. Government agents. Then he saw El, Henry, and Butch. That's when it clicked in his mind.

"RICHIE!" he screamed, struggling to stand on unsteady legs. When he gained balance he started toward the door, only to be tackled to the ground again by someone much bigger than him.

"Stand down, Kaspbrack. You go over there and you'll die," Henry's voice whispered into his ear.

Eddie had always been small, but he was strong. Not stronger than Henry, but he was fucking pissed. So, it seemed to give him the adrenaline he needed to pull his elbow back and slam it into Henry's side.

"Get the fuck off of me!" he yelled, receiving the attention of everyone in the room. "It's your fucking fault, Bowers! He was supposed to leave with us! Why the hell would you leave him behind?!"

Eddie dove at Henry, punching him as hard as he could. Henry tried to protect his face, but he was caught by surprise at Eddie's newfound strength. Blood was everywhere, but the fight didn't last long, as Eddie felt arms around his waist, pulling him away.

"Calm the fuck down, right now," a low, angry voice spoke into his ear. Stan.

As pissed off and upset as he was, Eddie didn't want to fight with Stan. So, he stopped squirming and allowed Stan to drag him away from Henry, over to where Bev and Ben sat.

"Stay here, okay? You're in no shape to be dealing with this situation right now."

Eddie felt Bev pull him into a hug, but it was also to keep him from trying to run away.

"Stan, we have to get to the base! Richie's trapped down there! We need to get in and get him out!" Eddie yelled as Stan started to walk toward one of the government officials.

"We can't, Eddie," Bev whispered into his ear. "The missiles went off a few minutes ago. If we try to get there, we'll all die."

Eddie sat quietly for a second, earning glances from most of the ex-Hive members. Then, without warning, he pulled away from Bev's hold on him and sprinted outside, ignoring the yells of his friends and the government agents.

He knew he wouldn't make it to the base. It was a five minute run, and he could see the shadow a the missile above him. Tears streamed down his face but he kept running.

He was nearly to the edge of town when what felt like magnets pulled him back and he fell roughly on the ground, slamming his arm into the ground.

"Fuck!" he yelled, gripping his elbow. It felt like his arm broke. Eddie glanced behind him, trying to figure out how he had fell, only to see El standing behind him with a frown on her face.

Pain throbbed through his arm, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. Eddie tried to stand up and get to the base, but found he was stuck on the ground, unable to move.

"Let go, El," he whined, trying to fight against her power.

"No. You're not going to get yourself killed," she said, blood dripping from both nostrils as she fought against her exhaustion to keep Eddie in place.

"Richie's still down there!"

"I know. And he made Henry promise to keep you away, and I'm taking on that promise now because you knocked Henry out! I'm not going to let you get yourself killed, Eddie."

"Fuck off!" Eddie screamed, trying to fight back.

Footsteps echoed around him, and he turned to see Mike Hanlon, Bill, and Stan all running toward him. El's powers let up just for the others to grab him and quite literally drag him back toward the town.

"Let go! Fucking let go!" Eddie yelled, tears dripping down his face as he held his injured arm near his chest and struggled to escape. "Let go of me!"

"You need to stop, right now," Stan said in a low voice, trying to hide the fact that he was near tears as well.

"Fuck off, Stan! I told him we'd make it out! I told him we'd finally be free of the Hive! Let me go!"

His screaming was earning looks from all over the town as the teenagers attempted to drag Eddie back to the government officials and their other friends. Everyone looked shocked and sad, unsure why the boy was freaking out.

However, their attention was diverted as a screeching sound filled the air, followed by a loud thump, then silence. Everyone tried to look in the direction of the sound, only to cover their eyes seconds later.

Just outside the town, a deafening bang erupted, shooting dirt sky high, shaking the ground with it.

"No! Let go!" Eddie screamed again, realizing that Richie had followed through, and silence filled the air.

The government agents rushed out from beside them, running to the location of the blast. Stan followed, informing them of everything he knew.

Eddie sat in a silent shock, knowing that there was nothing he could do. The weight of the situation made him feel like he couldn't breathe, the stress and exhaustion finally catching up.

That's all he felt, that and his throbbing pains and the realization that he may never see Richie again, before the world seemed to sway and he blacked out.