.: Friday I'm In Love :|: Reddie :.

Your Brother First

It was really dark in the room he was looking in, but the light made it a bit easier to see. His shoulder had really hurt for the first few days, but now he couldn't feel his arm at all as he peered around the door and into the freezing room that was empty except for a single body huddled in the far corner.

"Richie?" Georgie forgot to whisper, and stiffened at the sound of the chair creaking in the next room over. He held his breath and moved into the cold room as quickly as he could while still being quiet, and closed the door silently behind himself. When he was sure there was no movement from outside, he finally relaxed against the wood, exhaling slowly. He had learned in the past few weeks that noise was unforgivable. After all, the first time he tried to shout for help, the mean old man had made his arm stop working.

There was a hoarse whisper that the boy couldn't quite make out. He scooted quietly to the corner of the room, realizing that he probably shouldn't have closed the door if he wanted light. He couldn't tell where he was putting his feet.

"What?" Georgie whispered as he approached a shadowy figure crouched down on the floor. He squatted down beside the mass. He was fairly sure he had seen enough in the light to know who it was, but he wanted to be sure.

"Mmph," came the muffled reply. Georgie smiled a little bit, covering his mouth to stifle a giggle. He had definitely missed Richie a lot. He moved to throw his good arm around the boy, but drew back sharply at a hiss of pain that escaped the curly-haired teen.

Richie guided his wrists into Georgie's grasp, and the child concentrated intently on the task that was, quite literally, at hand. It was dark, hard for him to see what he was doing, but his tiny and rather shaky hand managed to undo the knot that had been worn down in the two weeks of pulling at it without much need for his limp arm. Richie immediately lifted his hands to his face and tugged the cloth from his mouth, taking a deep breath of fresh air. As fresh as the stale air that was filling the room could be, that is.

"Hey, Kid." Richie's voice was nearly silent. It was scratchy and hoarse from minimal use. Richie pulled Georgie into a more comfortable hug, pulling the little boy's arms around himself in a way that wouldn't touch his hurting body parts. Moving at all was proving difficult, but he just wanted to feel someone.

He felt bad, but he couldn't help but imagine he was hugging Eddie, especially with the smell of the spilled first-aid kit still fresh in his mind. He hugged the tiny figure tighter, ignoring the ache in his muscles and the burning in whatever cuts he had. Then he noticed Georgie's right arm falling limply off of him without much movement at all. He looked down at the shadowy outline of the arm, remaining silent for a few seconds.

"It doesn't work," Georgie piped up, poking his now-numb arm with his other hand. It swayed a little bit before going still again.

"What happened?" Richie asked in a hushed voice. Georgie shrugged his left shoulder, before remembering that Richie couldn't see him.

"The old man did it. I tried to yell for help. The other kids told me not to, but I thought maybe they were just too afraid to try. Then he came in, and he was dressed all weird, in a big baggy silver suit with orange puff balls. He said that I shouldn't have interrupted him getting ready for work. I asked him what he was, and he said he was a clown at a circus a few towns over, and to stop talking. Then he showed me what would happen if I didn't."

The last sentence sent a chill down Richie's spine. He leaned down and untied his feet, stretching himself out. That was a bad idea. He let out a pained yelp and Georgie covered his mouth with a small hand. They waited in silence, but not a sound came from the rest of the house.

"We've got to get out of here. I need to take you home." Richie started to get up, his breathing going slightly uneven as his legs nearly buckled beneath him. He leaned heavily against the wall, clutching Georgie's wrist tightly.