In The Middle

Chapter 19 What's Next?

A few months had passed and Archie noticed less pain in his back. Sure, there was still a full ache but nothing more than that.

He eventually returned to football. And though the dull ache annoyed him as he played football, he didn't let it stop him from doing what he loved. He also continued boxing. Mostly so he could get the rest of his strength back.

As he entered the cafeteria with his already made lunch, his friends signalled to him. He walked over to the table and sat down with them.

"How're you doing, Archie? Is your back any better than it was?" Kevin asked.

"Well, I'm still getting aches in my back but nothing too painful. Which is good" Archie said with a short smile.

"Archie, can I ask you something. Something you don't have to answer if you don't want to answer it" Veronica said to him.

"Yeah" Archie said, looking at her.

"Do you remember anything at the hospital?" Veronica then asked.

"What do you mean?" Archie asked, feeling a little confused.

"The whole "out of body" situation" Veronica said.

"I remember parts of it. Just not everything" Archie replied.

"What do you remember?" Betty asked.

"My grandpa. Guiding me. And also talking to you" Archie said, aiming the last sentence at Veronica.

"Was it scary?" Reggie asked.

"Not really. It felt weird though" Archie replied.

"Well, we're glad you're ok. And that you're back on the field" Reggie smiled as he patted Archie on the shoulder.

"Heard from Nick at all?" Toni asked.

"Thankfully no. And I don't plan on it" Archie replied. After lunch, they all attended their classes and school lasted for another few hours.

After school, Archie walked from the school to Pop's to meet up with Veronica. They chatted in a booth for a while while drinking their favourite milkshakes and then they headed downstairs to La Bonne Nuit for some time as girlfriend and boyfriend.

After that, Archie walked home. As he did though, he heard the sound of rustling in the bushes. Thinking it might've just been an animal, like a cat or a dog, he kept walking. He then put his earphones in and began listening to music. But that was a bad idea because he was now unaware of what was behind him.

He was suddenly tackled to the ground and before he could do anything, he was being pummelled with punch after punch after punch.

LATER

Fred and Mary waited impatiently for Archie to come home. And because of how late it was getting, they were starting to get really worried.

"We need to go and look for him" Mary told Fred. Fred agreed.

"Come on, Vegas!" Fred called out as he and Mary then walked quickly towards the door. Vegas ran from the kitchen and followed Fred and Mary outside. They then began their search for Archie.

Archie woke up on the ground with his hands bound behind his back. As he looked around, he realised that he was at Sweetwater River. And right now, he was trying to figure out how he got there.

"Hello Archie" Nick suddenly said. Archie looked forwards and saw Nick coming towards him, using crutches to help himself walk.

"Nick? I thought you were told to stay away" Archie said in shock.

"Guess what, Archie? I don't give a crap! What you and your friends did to me was just....humiliating. And now, I'm pissed" Nick said. Suddenly, Archie was pulled to his knees by two of Nick's friends. Nick then grabbed something out from his back pocket. It was a gun. Nick cocked it and then pointed it at Archie.

"I really don't want to do this, Arch. But, you leave me no choice" Nick told Archie. However, before he was able to take a shot at Archie, Kevin and Fangs ran at him. It was a miracle that those two were there. But, them interfering made things worse.

As Nick was tackled to the ground, his finger slipped, causing the gun to go off. And when that happened, Archie was hit in the stomach. Kevin and Fangs looked over at Archie and watched in shock as he collapsed onto his back. The two guys that were holding Archie earlier knew that they had to finish the job for Nick so, they grabbed Archie and dragged him to the water. They then threw him into the water with barely a struggle from Archie.

"NO!" Kevin yelled as he then looked back down at Nick and knocked him out with the help of Fangs. After Nick was out, Kevin shakily grabbed the gun and pointed it at the two guys. They put their hands up, telling Kevin not to shoot them. Kevin wanted to, he really did, but Fangs told him not to. Instead, the gun dropped from his hands and the two guys ran off.

"I-I've never done that before" Kevin said in a shaky tone. Fangs looked over at the water and couldn't see Archie's body. An indication that Archie was sinking into the deep water below.

"We need to rescue Archie" Fangs told Kevin as he then rushed over to the edge of the water. Kevin rushed over as well. Fangs quickly took off his jacket and shirt, revealing his bare chest and then, he dove into the water. Kevin watched on, hoping Fangs would be able to save Archie.

A minute passed and Fangs wasn't resurfacing, which began to scare Kevin. Then all of a sudden, he heard splashing coming from his left. He looked to the left and saw Fangs coming towards him with Archie. Kevin then helped Fangs get Archie to the shore.

Once there, Kevin checked to see if Archie was breathing. He wasn't. Fangs then began CPR on Archie.

As he did that, Mary and Fred suddenly appeared. When Kevin saw them, he rushed over to them and told them everything as they came closer and closer to Archie.

"Come on Archie!" Fangs said loudly, continuing to push up and down on Archie's chest. Seeing that this was putting strain on the wound to Archie's abdomen, Kevin quickly took his jacket off and pressed it firmly on the wound, containing some of the bleeding.

"Please don't give up, Archie" Mary sobbed. Suddenly, Archie began spluttering water. His eyes shot open and he began to cough.

"Wha-what happened?" Archie asked. He looked at Fangs, Kevin and his parents and then he noticed the wound.

"Crap!" Archie said to himself.