Nyctophilia 🌪 Reddie

xviii

Eddie spent most of the day in the observatory, staring up at the world he always wanted to be part of but never got the chance. It was cloudy outside, but he could still see trees and plants through the reflective glass. For most of the day, all of the losers besides Eddie and Richie had stayed in their rooms, trying to think and prepare themselves for what could happen in the future.

Richie hadn't stayed with Eddie the whole day, instead choosing to pace around the base, trying to figure out his surroundings. When he returned to the observatory in the late afternoon, he found Eddie laying on the floor, still staring up. It was a sight that made him want to smile and cry at the same time.

"Eds?" he called, and watched as Eddie rolled on his stomach and looked up at Richie.

"Hey," Eddie said, a soft smile on his face. "Is everyone still in their rooms?"

"Yeah. Ben and Bev are probably fucking, we know Bill can't because he's sick as shit and I don't know what Mike's up to, but-"

"Beep beep, Richie," Eddie said with an eye roll, standing up and walking over to his boyfriend.

"Georgie told me dinner would be ready in a bit and to get everyone. Wanna come with?" Richie asked, holding his hand out to Eddie, who took it without hesitation.

"Sure," Eddie said, putting his other hand behind Richie's head to pull him into a loving kiss. "Let's go."

They walked down the halls until they were in front of their friends rooms. One by one they knocked on the doors and told them that it was time for dinner. Soon, all of the losers plus Butch and Henry were following Eddie and Richie to the cafeteria. No one spoke, because there wasn't really much to say.

Once they were all seated, Georgie came out of the kitchen, a wide smile on his face, carrying a bowl, followed by several other people carrying other pots and pans. They all sat down, Leroy showing up twenty minutes later, and began to feast in silence.

Eddie couldn't deny that it was the best food he had ever had. Not even Richie, who had lived in the real world for most of his life, had eaten food that good. Everything was going smoothly, small talk being made between Mike's family and some of the losers, when a door opened and a new person marched out.

She had hair so blonde it was almost white, hazel eyes, and was wearing a skintight, leathery looking suit, and she had gun holsters and knives attached at her hip.

"Hanlon!" she yelled in a booming, irritated voice. It seemed as though she had a mild French accent but was trying to mask it. "I wasn't told that new people would be brought to my base!"

"I figured your sister would've told you," Leroy said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "Hungry?"

"I come back from a mission and the first thing I see is teenagers from the American news! They're wanted!" she yelled, ignoring Leroy altogether.

"Mistakenly accused, Lina. They're the ones I told you about."

The girl, Lina, irritably sat down in a vacant seat, glaring at the losers. "They're the ones you've been talking about? Doubtful."

"They saved lives."

"Thousands still died and the leaders lived, Hanlon. What use are they?"

"They're smart, resourceful, and they want the Hive survivors dead as much as we do."

The losers all looked at each other in confusion. They knew they'd be expected to do something, but they didn't understand the involvement of a random French girl.

Georgie leaned over to Eddie, who he was sitting next to. "That's Carolina, but everyone just calls her Lina. She's one of the Ténèbres agents and usually stays here when she's not on mission. She's kind of moody, but she can be really nice too. She helped train me when I first got here before she had to start the mission," he whispered.