A Varchie Story

Chapter 11

The cold wouldn't stop, and the wetness beneath could make the man in the moon shudder from the frost bitten snow.
Archie merely just escaped from wear he was being imprisoned. His body was bright shades of red and pink. His lips were kissed purple, and blue.
His body was going numb, and he could barely feel his legs.

Jughead, Betty, and Veronica were out on their own searching for anywhere that Archie could be. It was cold, and both of the girls huddled close. They went further and further towards the forest, and through the field.

Veronica only managed to get a couple words out through chittering teeth.
"I-I think we should go back." Her cheeks rosy red.

The three only went a couple miles through the field and snow. The cold was making them all shiver and they all wanted to be by a fire so badly.
Their breaths seems to freeze like solids in the cold and icy air.
The thought of Archie being out in this, with little to no coverage on his body from the cold, tormented their minds.
They could almost feel for him as the tips of their fingers seemed to be kissed with frostbite.

The wind blew softly on the back of Archie's neck, making his bodily hair stand up. The wind only made it worse. The only coverage on his body were long pants and a tee shirt that seemed to be given to him.
His eyes fought to stay open. The pain, and the burning cold sensation made him want to collapse. The cold wind blew directly into his eyes, making him have to walk with his head down. The numbness and pain from being hit or tortured made him fall to his knees, and the sounds of cracks came from both. They weren't broken, but they were getting close to it.
Through clenched teeth, Archie pushed himself back up to trembling legs and constant thrive to survive. He was far, far away from the cabin now. Large trees and the beach where frozen water stood was to his right, and on the other side of that was the town.
It was all risky. If he were to go to town, he could get caught by the kidnapper again.
Archie's only option was to hide.
The field was covered in snow, and open area surrounded him. The snow made everything seem so bright, as the sun was covered by thick dark clouds.

Jughead tried his best to guide the two helpless, and near frozen girls behind him. Through all the pain and cold, he pushed forward. Searching, looking, taking second glances at things to make sure Archie was or wasn't there. It's been at least three hours, and there was no sign. In the vast field, you think you could see anything pointing out from miles. To their left stood the beach where Jason died all that time ago. It almost seemed that no one even went their anymore.
Betty's teeth clattered together as she moved and huddled up next to Jughead, as she was searching for any warmth that there may have been on him.
"Are you okay ?" Jughead asked, kissing her forehead.
She nodded, and kept her head down as the wind kissed ice pecks all over her exposed skin.
Veronica watched as the two huddled and walked together, the love they shared was something totally different than she and Archie ever had.
She sighed, and kept her head down as she hugged herself tight with her own body warmth.

"What.. the fuck." Jughead whisper shouted, as he came to a halt and looked out to the vast opening.
"What ???" Veronica came up and squinted to try to see anything that could be out there.
Jughead pointed and watched as a man, staggering to keep himself up walked through the field.
"That's Archie." Betty whispered, her mouth going wide and she couldn't believe it herself.
"Archie !" Jughead shouted as loud as he could, waving his arms to get his attention.
They could tell he could hear or see, so they decided to get closer.
Each one of them ran as fast as they could through the steeping snow and tried not to over do it.
"Archie !!!!" They all yelled again, waving their arms in hope of him catching their attention.

A whisper like sound rang through Archie's ears, as he stopped and turned his head.
"Guys." He whispered, and collapsed in the snow covering the hard ground of the field.
The three friends all yelled and screamed, making their way over to him as fast as they could.
Archie lay there, completely frozen to the touch and bruises covering his body. His breaths, very low and his eyes sewn shut.
Betty gasped and started to cry as Veronica and Jughead continuously try to wake him.
"Archie, Archie !!! V, you have to dial 911. I'm serious." Jughead pushed his phone towards her, and continued trying to wake their unconscious friend probably dying in the harsh cold.
Through an unbelievable sight, and trembling fingers, Veronica anxiously dialed 911 and tried to get staff or an ambulance out their as soon as possible.
Archie was as fragile as a thin sheet of glass, and they all tried to move him closer and closer to town as they could. Betty and Veronica had each side to where Jughead had as much of his body as he could grab. The ambulance seemed far away, and the three didn't have that much strength of their own either. Time only seemed to be running out quicker and quicker.

The next day arrived, and everyone was waiting for answers. Riverdale Hospital was very trustworthy, and that's where Archie happened to be located.
Jughead, Betty, and Veronica sat in the waiting room where they waited for any answers they could get from Archie.
He was alive so far, and needed lots of recovery time. There was so much more they needed to know.
Where did he come from ? How far did he walk ? Did he see who took him ? Was anyone else there ? Was he going to be okay in general ? Questions were in the air, and rumors were flying fast
Each of the three were warmer now, and haven't left the hospital since they arrived. A blanket for each of the friends, and warm coffee to keep them all sane.
"Miss Lodge. I knew you wanted to go inside to see Archie, were you still planning to do so ?" The Doctor approached them all in the waiting room, yet was conversing with Veronica.
She stood up, and set her blanket down my Betty.
She nodded, and pulled a small smile trying to be polite, everyone was working so hard.
"Right this way." The Doctor nodded, and his words were like a lasso just dragging her to follow him through the door and out into the hallway.
The hospital smelled so clean, for it being a place with much sickness and much disgustingness behind it all.
Everyone room was closed, and nurses beyond nurses towered on every floor.
Archie was in room 208, and had no one else he was sharing the room with.
They both pushed through the door, and made their way toward Archie's bed.
A breathing mask covered his face, and bandages covered certain parts of his arms. The look of someone who lost a very big fight with a brute.
"Take as much time as you need." The Doctor pressed, and left without saying anymore to Veronica.

She could only watch, as Archie took in little breaths and let out even littler ones. The way he looked in the bed made him look weak, yet he was not. One of the strongest people you could ever meet, yet looked as though he was the weakest. Tragedy brings bad looks upon people.
A tear rolled down Veronica's face, as she thought about the pain he must've been through. No one deserved that.
"Archie.." she began, " There's nothing I could ever say to apologize for the pain I must've put you through. The only thing I can say, is I'm sorry. You were the best boyfriend, and I was stupid. You deserve so much better than me. You deserve so much better than this."
Veronica wept into his hospital gown, and placed his hand in hers. She couldn't catch her breath, and felt as though she was going to collapse from sorrow and sadness. The pain was to much, and she couldn't believe that that's what someone like Archie has to go through.
"We are going to get through this.." she whispered, "We are going to get through this."