Whumptober 2020|| Reddie

9. Stranded

A/N: ^Pennywise doesn't actually appear in this prompt. I used this picture because I drew it while procrastinating this whumpshot. Don't get used to it, because it's pretty much the only time my own fanart will be used for the picture.

     "Gonna get you, fuckface!"

     Richie sprinted past the Kissing Bridge, closely followed by Bowers and his gang.

     (bowers and huggins and criss oh my)

     "Gonna get you!" Henry repeated as Richie panted for breath. "Gonna make you eat your fucking glasses."

     As he tore through the Barrens, lung screaming in pain, a mantra repeated over and over in Richie's head.

     Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-

     Richie leapt over branches and rocks, moving clumsily yet quickly through. He had only one goal- get away from Bowers.

     (bowers and huggins and criss oh my)

     Even as his body cried out in protest, Richie forced his legs to go faster, faster, faster-

     Henry's jeering voice seemed to propel Richie forwards, until finally, finally, the noise died away, just a small sound floating towards Richie and popping in his ears.

      Richie scrambled up a tree, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Not a second too soon, his legs vanished into the thick shrubby leaves.

     "Where is he?" Belch panted, ugly drops of crocodile sweat rolling down his face. "Where is the little fucker?"

     "I don't fucking know!" Henry's face was a livid, angry red, like a boil about to burst.

     Richie curled up against the rough bark, breathing as lightly as possible. Surely the slightest noise would alert them of his presence, and then he'd be dead, wouldn't he. No escape here, out in the middle of nowhere. No one to hear his screams as Henry whipped out his knife and sliced Richie up like a Christmas turkey.

     "Maybe, uh . . ." Vic spoke up, looking uncomfortable. "Maybe we should go. He'll have to leave the Barrens at some point, right?"

     Henry mulled it over, swearing under his breath. Richie tried not to listen as he went over every way Henry would kill him in loving detail. "Fine," he snapped abruptly. "We'll wait the fucker out."

     Richie slumped onto the branch in relief, closing his eyes slightly as he breathed in the leaves' sweet perfume. The sound of

     (bowers and huggins and criss oh my)

     the bullies faded as they trailed away.

    Maybe five minutes had passed when Richie realized something.

     They'd chased him into one of the few areas of the Barrens he'd never ventured through.

     He was hopelessly and utterly lost.

     "Fuck . . ." Richie muttered as he climbed shakily from the tree. The sun was setting, basking everything in gold. But he didn't have time to appreciate the beauty around him, not when he was so royally hecked. "Which way did they go again?" He'd been a bit too busy running for his life to watch for which way he was running.

     If only Eds was here . . . he never gets lost. It's like he has some kind of fucking compass in his head.

     He was jolted out of his thoughts at the sight of a sleek tiger. He must be even deeper into the Barrens than he thought; tigers were few and far between in their jungle-like forest. Richie crept past it, inadvertently moving even further in.