JUST PRETEND / Sweet Pea

PART 2

Cold. So cold. That was the first thing you could think of when you came back to consciousness. You opened your eyes and blinked a few times before your vision became clearer.

The pounding inside your head made you grimace in pain. You wanted to move your hand to feel if there was some sort of laceration on your forehead, but something stopped you. Panic rose inside you when you realized you couldn't move at all.

You realized that your wrists were tied up with chains above and beside your head. They reached up to the ceiling of the room that looked like an old cellar. And your ankles were tied up too. The chains that bit into your flesh were attached to the ground. You were quite literally hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the moldy smelling room with nothing on but your underwear. You were freezing, the air smelled wet and gave you flashbacks to your childhood when you and your dad went to the forest to pick up some mushrooms for dinner. You loved walking on moss and you loved the way the forest smelled - like fir cones, woody, a little moldy, but in a good way.

With your consciousness came realization. How did I end up here? Where am I?

„HEEEEELP!" Your started crying and tried to shake off the chains on your wrists and ankles, but it didn't make any sense. Whoever brought you here made it very clear that you weren't going anywhere.

You sobbed and screamed until eventually your lungs gave out and you let your eyes hover over the dark cellar once again. It was only then that you noticed a little green light blinking in one corner of the room which sent a shiver down your spine.

Someone's watching me through this camera.

-

The Serpents gathered once again at the Wyrm. It was the second search that was organized for you. The first one took place right after your abduction and was rather rushed. This time it had to be more thought-out. The Ghoulies were not to be sneezed at. They were cruel and prone to violence. With the news (your pregnancy) Toni and Fangs had told FP right away the situation became even more urgent than it was anyway.

The Wyrm was filled with almost every Serpent. All of them paid attention to FP while casually sipping on their drinks.

„Ok, we know the Ghoulies describe this district as their territory," he said while standing at a table in the middle of the Wyrm. It was full of old city maps, notes and sketches. He encircled a spot on one map with a red pen. „This is where they usually meet up. I think we should start here."

„No...too obvious," Jughead spoke up. „This is where they'd expect us to search for her. I don't think they'd risk us destroying their meeting place."

The discussion went on and after a while they figured out a plan. Since they had no clue where you were or why the Ghoulies even abducted you they thought it would be better to do it the hard way. They'd punch the shit out of as many Ghoulies as necessary to find out information about you.

„Alright. Any questions?" FP asked.

„Yeah. I have a question," an older guy stated. „Why the effort? She's not even a Serpent!"

The room went silent. Sweet Pea slammed his fist onto the wooden table he was sitting at and was about to lose his temper. „Because she fucking deserves it, asshole!"

„Yeah? Like she deserved to be cheated on?" There was a pause where the two gave each other the death stare. „Oh come on...everyone saw what was going on between you two that night. Maybe she was just sick of your bullshit and left."

„Watch your fucking mouth" Sweet Pea said through gritted teeth. His whole body tensed. He knew one more word could make him lose his shit. The guilt he felt for what happened to you was immense, but hearing things like that out of someone else's mouth made it even worse. He knew he fucked up and he knew he probably lost you by his side. But losing you completely was not an option. The simple thought of you not getting out of this alive made him want to throw up.

„ENOUGH!" FP's voice echoed through the Wyrm. „Y/N might not be a Serpent, but she is part of the family - MY family. I know every single one of you would do anything for theirs. So please...get yourself together and help me - help us," he gestured to Sweet Pea „find her."

There was agreement from nearly everyone inside the room. Some Serpents let out short war cries and some nodded in agreement. Most of them left right away. FP waited until everyone expect Jughead, Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea was gone.

He walked up to Sweet Pea who was still kind of paralyzed and frozen in place and laid his hand on his shoulder. „We will find her ok?"

He simply nodded. You could see the hurt in his face. It clearly didn't help that he couldn't even sleep since you were gone. „Let's not waste any time," he finally said.

Everyone nodded in agreement They split up in groups of two and left the Wyrm to see what they could find out. The search would last another 5 hours until eventually they gave up for the night and decided to clear their thoughts by trying to get some sleep.

-

Three days went by and there wasn't a single clue - they couldn't get any information about your whereabouts. It was driving Pea insane. He barely slept through the nights and constantly thought about what he'd done to you, where you might be and if you were okay. He wanted you back so bad.

In the middle of the night Sweet Pea's phone rang. He startled and blinked at the screen for a few seconds.

„Hello?" Sweet Pea's voice came out gruffly.

„I got news."

„What?"

„Come to the Wyrm. You need to see this by yourself," FP said. You could hear by the tone in his voice that it was something serious.

„Give me 10 minutes."

Sweet Pea's heart started racing. All kinds of different scenarios went through his mind while he quickly put on his clothes and rushed outside his trailer. What did FP mean? Does he have any information on where you are? Did they find you? Were you hurt? Or worse? He took off in a loud roar of his bike.

When he arrived at the Wyrm, Jughead, Toni, Fangs and FP were already there. Their expressions were marked with concern and shock.

„What's wrong? What happened?" Sweet Pea was breathing unsteadily.

„Maybe you should take a seat," Toni reached out for his arm and pulled him towards a chair. He sat down quietly and tried searching for any hints in their expressions. They gathered around an old VHS recorder.

„Once again. I don't think he should see this," Jughead stated.

„See what?" Pea asked.

„We talked about it. He has the right to see this," FP answered.

„Guys...what are you talking about?"

FP held up a VHS und shoved it halfway inside the recorder. „Someone placed this outside the entrance of the Wyrm tonight."

Sweet Pea nodded and FP pushed the VHS further inside the recorder. The screen lit up and for a second there was only darkness. Sweet Peas body tensed when he finally realized what he was watching.

He could see you like a third party. There were chains on your wrists and ankles and you were hanging on them in the middle of the room. Your head hung low. You were barely moving but he could've sworn he saw your chest move up and down even though the video had bad quality and was very dark.

„There is more..."

„More?" Sweet Pea gulped.

FP nodded and fast-forwarded the tape. You were not alone in this room anymore. You were surrounded with 6 persons. They were wearing black gowns so their faces weren't visible. In their hands they were holding candles and one of them had a knife or some kind of dagger. He stood right behind you. It seemed like they were hosting some kind of sick ritual.

Sweet Pea's vision blurred in the moment the guy behind you put his knife onto your flesh. Your screams echoed through the cellar.

„That's enough!" Toni stopped the tape and turned off the TV. „He's seen enough." Her eyes were full of tears.

Sweet Pea stood up, walked a few steps to the back of the room and let his hands glide through his hair in frustration. „FUUUUCK!" He screamed and sunk to the ground. He felt powerless.