Nyctophilia 🌪 Reddie

xvii

The plane landing was easily the most mesmerizing thing to both Richie and Eddie. They had landed, straight down, and hovered over a lake. Before Richie had the chance to make some witty remark and tease Bowers about their shitty landing zone, the center of the lake literally split open.

They landed inside, water falling all around them, and landed on a platform. They all scrambled out of the plane and watched as the top closed, mist hitting them from the lake above.

"Welcome to France," a man said, and all of the losers turned to see a dark skinned man with a bright smile, followed by a younger boy.

"Grandpa!" Mike said in joy, running and hugging his grandfather tightly.

"G-Georgie?!" Bill asked, almost scared to get his hopes up. He hadn't seen his brother in nearly four months.

"Hey, Billy," Georgie said with a grin, walking forward to hug his brother tightly. "How was the flight?"

"Well, th-they have real me-medicine," Bill said with a grin.

Georgie grinned and began to run down a path toward a door, with Leroy, Henry, Butch, and the losers following closely behind.

They opened the doors and Richie could almost hear the disappointment in Eddie's sigh. They were definitely in another underground base, and Eddie was not pleased whatsoever. Richie took his hand and laced their fingers, squeezing gently to let Eddie know he understood that he was frustrated and that he was there to help.

"Georgie will show you to your rooms. There's only been a few people staying here since we can't really trust anyone," Leroy said, and Georgie smiled and led the group to a hallway.

"It's nicer here," Georgie said as he guided the group. "They have a pool and a greenhouse, and Mike's family is really nice. The rooms all have desks and bathrooms in them."

They came to a stop in front of a group of doors down a hall, and Georgie gave everyone a room, obviously partnering Richie with Eddie and Bill with Stan. He also told Bev that she could share with Ben if she wanted, but he didn't want to make any assumptions, which made Bev smile brightly.

"Henry, you get that one, and your dad is across the hall," Georgie said, surprising Henry.

"I thought we had to sleep on the jet," He said to his dad, but Georgie answered before Butch could.

"It's more comfortable in here, and there's plenty of rooms. Besides, that way you get announcements, since we all have to work together now," Georgie said with a grin. "I'm just excited for this all to be over so I can see my mom again. I haven't seen her in four months!"

Bill stopped dead in his tracks, as did the other losers. Even Henry and Butch seemed to realize.

Georgie had no idea his mom had been murdered.

"Wh-what about dad?" Bill asked, hoping Georgie knew that their dad was a terrible person so he wouldn't be even more betrayed.

"Leroy told me dad helped lead the attacks and wanted to hurt people," Georgie said, his smile fading. "I don't trust him, Billy."

Stan put an arm around Bill's shoulders and smiled at Georgie. "It's nice to see you, Georgie, but I've got to make your brother take his pills and make sure he sleeps or else he's gonna be a bitch," Stan said with a laugh, making Georgie giggle.

"Okay, goodnight!" Georgie said, even though it was early in the day. "If you all want to rest that makes sense, but I can give you a tour if you're not tired!"

Henry and Butch both smiled at Georgie respectfully, but excused themselves to take a nap. Mike was with Leroy and his family, while Ben and Bev went to relax. Richie and Eddie wanted to rest, but they saw how excited Georgie was to show them around the base that he had made into a home, so they couldn't let him down.