Richie wasn't alone much these days. Really he wasn't ever alone much, but especially since this new guy had gotten to the station and Richie's granddad had started fighting with him, Richie didn't really go anywhere on his own. Kat had asked them to stick together so he had, travelling with her or his friends or Loki, staying close to home on wheel one as much as they could.
But, Richie had never been great at following directions, even when he tried his best. He'd been in the park with Eddie and Bill and Ben, they were working on a new fort, and Richie had forgotten his phone at home. Everyone had offered to go with him to go get it, but he'd insisted they stay and keep working, going so far as to run off before they could follow. It wasn't far, he'd be fine.
But then the hall started raining. It didn't worry him at first, weather inside happened, he remembered the snow from over the winter. But then he held out a hand and saw it. Tar. He had seen and heard and eavesdropped enough to know that he did things with tar.
"What the fuck?" Richie tried to wipe his hand on his jeans and back away.