AFTERLIFE :: Riverdale

III: Left For Dead

Do you know how it feels to get left behind? It's torture because you're alone, you don't know why you're alone, and you don't want to be. During this whole situation, that's how I felt. Archie, Betty, and Veronica left me behind to go off on some mystery-solving escapade like they were the Mystery Inc. They didn't care if I was somehow swept up in the tidal wave their actions caused.

When I woke up the morning after the mess started, I wondered why I was still sticking with them. Another thing I wondered was who left the television on all night. The last thing I wondered about was at what time did Betty crawl in the bed with me. At least she was adorable. I tried not to stare too long, guilt rising in my chest and all.

Careful not to wake her, I left Betty by her lonesome. I had to tiptoe out of the room as Archie and Veronica laid on the floor on my air mattress, barely stirring. They needed as much rest as they could get for what I knew was coming.

My hand still resting on the door, I looked at them with even more guilt, as if I didn't have enough already. Instead of being on the front lines, I had stayed at the side. Maybe I should've gotten more involved. Perhaps then, I could've joined them in all of their troubles and even taken the edge off.

Repeatedly, I told myself to forget the mentality of remorse and regret as I descended the steps in a rush. If I held on to "what-ifs", my whole life would be swallowed up in them, and I wasn't about to let that happen to myself.

Catching my eye was the living room's television. Here, the news was on as well. Difference was, there were no snores blocking out the audio, so I could actually hear it. God, I loved Betty, but she was definitely possessed by some kind of snore-demon.

I took a seat on the couch and, grabbing the remote from the coffee table, I turned up the volume ever so slightly.

There was a new newscaster this morning. It was a guy this time. "Last night, after multiple zombie-like creatures were spotted leaving the Thornhill Graveyard, we've been informed that they headed towards the south of the tracks. Police are wondering now if the teens from the previous night are South Side Serpents and have anything to do with the crime. Many deaths have been reported and the whole area of the South Side is now considered off-limits and is the first place authorities have closed off. An attempt to evacuate the district has failed." Throughout the program I had been biting my lip, and I'm pretty sure the last sentence made it actively bleed.

Clutching the remote in my hand as I followed the program closely, I squeezed it a little too hard, popping the battery cover off. I threw it down on the floor, a shattering crack bouncing off the walls. I stood abruptly. I couldn't just sit there and let the city blame and walk away from the people who made a promise to protect me. If they were protecting me, then who was protecting them?

Absolutely fuming, I walked back into Archie's room, accidentally stepping on said redhead laying on the floor as I made my way to the closet. I thrust it open, snatching a pair of ripped jeans and a leather South Side Serpents jacket from their places on the rack. Hurriedly, I dressed on the bed whilst simultaneously watching the news for any updates.

I dug my hands into the pockets of my jacket and took out the lighter which I had probably absent-mindedly put in it. I must have been half-asleep as well because I flicked it a couple of times before realizing there was no reason to do it in the first place. It was just soothing, and also a habit.

"Jughead? What's going on? Are you going somewhere? What happened to your lip?" Archie questioned me in the only way someone who's half asleep could.

I ignored his questions for the moment, instead I asked, "Does your dad have any guns or weapons?"

"You're not going out to try to fend off those things, are you?" Archie sprang to his feet. Now he was shuffling through the closet to try to find something to put on in order to go with me because he was completely naked besides his boxers. "I can't let you go by yourself. Not to the South Side." he explained, coming over to me with a pair of pants hanging over his shoulder. I smirked and laughed a little when he forgot a shirt, but my smile faltered when I remembered the purpose.