kidnapped; reddie

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭;

The smell was horrid. Drops of water were heard splashing on the cold, slippery floor. The freezing air was present. Quiet breaths were breaking the silence every now and then.

"Wh..where.. am I?", a high pitched voice was followed by a sigh. "Hello?"

Eddie's tired eyes could barely stay open. A slight light bulb was visible a little far from him. Just then he noticed he was tied up, he couldn't move. He was dizzy and uncomfortable. His head was pounding. The room was spinning around him, making him nauseous. He felt warm liquid slipping down his forehead, then his cheek and, finally, his mouth. He licked his chapped lips, tasting the metallic fluid. Panic struck him. His eyes flew open, his eyebrows turning upside down.

"Hello?! Is anybody here?", his voice cracked. The tears already started forming as he felt pain in his wrists. He was forced to sit on a chair with a thick rope roughly tightening his skinny wrists and ankles behind. He looked down, staring in shock at the small puddle of blood sitting under him. The reflection was showing the fearful, beaten up face of a boy. A tear caressed his bruised cheek.

Suddenly, Eddie heard a door banging on a wall, the sound coming from behind him. It was his only chance.

"Help! Help me, please!", he cried desperately.

He saw a shadow moving towards him. Hope grew inside him, leaving an innocent smile on his face.

The boy had curly, dark hair covering his entire face. He knelled down beside Eddie, carefully tilting his head.

"Richie, is- is that you? Please, you have to get me out of here! Please, I'm sorry for everything I've said- Please!"

He finally parted his hair out of his miserable face, took his glasses out of his pocket and started cleaning them with a smirk.

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?! Get me out of here before anyone comes in!", Eddie shouted.

But Richie didn't move. He fixed his glasses on his nose, watching Eddie calmly. He rested his head on his fist.

"What the hell?! Move, they're gonna come any minute!"

But he didn't realize. Or maybe he didn't want to. It was already too much for him. His hope left his body as soon as it entered. His smile disappeared in a second, leaving worry in his glassy eyes. His bottom lip started trembling as his thoughts were causing chaos in his head.

"R-Richie..?", he stuttered. His voice was shaky. He was waiting for an answer, a move, a facial expression. Anything.

But no one moved. Eddie's heartbeat increased in speed, as he started shaking. They were both staring into each other's eyes in silence. The taller boy jumped up and started walking around with his hands covering his mouth. He was trying not to burst out laughing. But eventually he did.

Eddie closed his eyes in fear. He couldn't believe it. Why was it happening to him? How could it be true? It must've been a nightmare.

"Sorry..", Richie said as he was almost out of breath. "Anyway, you may wonder what this is. It's my basement, of course!", he cracked up while Eddie was saying his prayers. "Do you like it? I thought it would fit your personality. Uh, too harsh?"

Eddie didn't dare to say a word anymore. He just knew there was no other way he would end up alive in the end.

"Ahh come on! Now you're the silent one", Richie protested. "Hmm, what else may I show you? Oh yeah!", he said as he grabbed the back of the chair Eddie was on and aggressively dragged it on the other side of the room. The short boy gasped at the feeling. "Look, those are old books my mom used to read. If you ever get bored you can borrow them!", he paused for a second. "But you have to tell me which ones you wanna read, 'cause.. you know", he replied as he pointed towards Eddie's tied up hands.