Taken- A Bughead Fanific

Chapater 13: A Shot in the Dark

Lodge followed me into the ICU. I tried to get my hands to stop shaking, but to no avail, so I shoved them in my pockets. The moonlight shined through the window and casted light upon a couple of people in the room. Most of them were hoocked up to breathing machines of some sort; wires going every which way out of their bodies like spider legs.

I think I'm going to throw up.

I limped down the stretch of hospital beds, looking back making sure I didn't walk past Betty. Fewer and fewer beds were left to check. I had three left and none of them had blonde hair. Soft weeping started coming from Veronica.

The beeping of the last persons heart monitor kept me from focusing.

"Ronnie-" I started, but then the machine started beeping louder and faster. I looked over to the last bed to find an older, white haired man furiously shaking. They were dying. Veronica noticed it to. All I could do was stare. I felt like I was dreaming again.

The man suddenly stopped shaking and was noiseless. His body had stopped. In just 60 seconds he no longer existed, just like that. And I watched it, a silent observer.

Veronica shoved both of us in a utility closet right across from the dead man.

"Quick," She hushed, "Doctors are coming, we can't get caught."

Right when she latched the door shut, we heard hasty footsteps burst into the room.

"Patient suffered a Tonic Clonic Seizure, doctor," a male voice informed.

We uncomfortably sat crouched, our knees crammed against each others. We eyed each other in the dark, focusing our ears on what was going on outside.

"Ronnie?" I asked like a curious child, "how long have I been-"

"Shh!" She swiftly shushed me. I will keep the question in the back of my mind.

Some doctor calmly replied back, "Wheel him to room 302. Call his family. You know the drill." From what I could hear, they wheeled the heavy bed out of the room, soon to be switched out with another person.

Just as abrupt as they were here, they vanished. Everything was still again; I could even here Veronica's panting.

"That was close," she breathed.

I stayed silent. What just happened? Did someone just die in front of me? So many thoughts were racing through my head.

"Jughead?" Veronica questioned, making sure I was still there with her.

"What if. . ." I trailed off. My mental capacity wasn't strong enough to ask. I could tell Ronnie was thinking the same horrible question as well.

A few rather awkward moments passed before she spoke again, "No. Stop. That's why we have to find her."

"Let's go, then," I started. Ronnie stood up first, then I followed.

She creaked the door open and peered out. "The coast is clear!"

I struggled to follow closely behind as she fast walked out of the closet. I stopped in the middle of the room. Something wasn't right.

"Veronica, stop," I whisper-shouted from across the room. She froze in the doorway, her tan hand resting on the handle.

Frozen still, I carefully observed every where in the room. Thanks to the silent night, I heard something. . .
A camera. My eyes darted in every corner. Then, directly behind me sat a camera zooming in on us.

I looked over to Veronica. Her eyes widened at the corner of the room near the closet.

"Run," I warned, "Run!" The black haired girl answered back by pushing the heavy door open as fast as she could. A tall body rammed into her on the spot.

"I have been looking all over for you guys," Archie panted.

I ignored his statement, "There's no time Archie, we gotta go."

He ran after Veronica, me following closely behind.

I heard a, "Stop! Stop them!" From behind me. I kept focused on my friends, trusting their lead. I didn't listen to the voices inside my head begging me to stop. With every step, pain shot through my thigh. It felt like I was getting shot over, and over, and over gain. It didn't matter. Betty mattered.

Archie, who was far ahead than the both of us, made a quick turn to the right and disappeared. Veronica waited on me, but impatiently suggesting I hurry.

I dreaded what I was going to have to do when I reached her. Archie turned right, and to the right of me were stairs. Archie stood at the bottom of the stairwell and asked if he needed to carry me down.

No way.

"I think I'm capable, Archie. My leg may be bad, but my dignity isn't," I halfway joked. I gulped, shakily using my good leg to take the first step. Then, I inevitably put all my body weight on my left one.

Ouch.

I seethed in pain and quickly lifted the weight off of my thigh, resulting in me tumbling down the tiled stairs. When I flailed to the floor I felt my limbs uncoil, laying flat against the unforgiving tile. At least my thigh didn't hurt near as bad now, because everything hurt equally.

Archie shoved his hand in my face, gesturing I grab it, "Holy crap, Jug! Let me help you-"

"No," I grumbled. I quickly realized this act was going nowhere quick. I'm looking pathetic. Soon after, I contradicted myself by taking his hand, waving my white flag.

Archie embarrassingly lifted me up swiftly, quickly jogging down the second set of stairs.

I couldn't resist adding some mouth when he put me down. I begged in a British child's accent, "Thank you, the great, able-bodied Archibald, would you allow me to kiss your feet? I am but a wee orphan child. ''twas my brothers dying wish: to touch thy Royal Sire!"

Archie spit back, "Really, man? Really? You think I wanted to -"

Just then, in the corner of my eye, I saw someone walking down the hallway. They were far away and the lack of light certainly wasn't helping, but I could hear them. I eagerly followed the sound while tuning Archie out.

"Wow. Now you just walk away," Archie kept on. I shoved a finger in his face and shushed him.

I quickened my pace -which wasn't all that fast, I might add- but it was enough. Enough to catch a glimpse under a shred of moonlight. Blonde hair.

"Betty!" I screamed, probably waking up every person around me. Archie ran after the blonde. He disappeared around a corner, yet again. Veronica sped past me as well.

When I finally peered around the corner all I saw was both Ronnie and Archie. No blonde woman.

"There is no one here," Veronica said.

"There never was," Archie added.

I stammered, looking frantically around me for what I know I saw. All I saw was a room that said

PHYSIOTHERAPY

I peered in through the single piece of glass that was in the door and finally, finally, bestowed upon me by the universe: Elizebeth Cooper.