Hold On || Jughead Jones

Manhunter // Part One

It was one of those moments I thanked myself for planning ahead and overpacking. Currently, I was by myself in the bunker surrounded by the light from the candles. A blanket I had grabbed from my apartment rested across my shoulders as I faced the wall where Dilton had been putting together about anything related to G&G. I shook my head to myself, wishing all of the pieces could connect so I could find an answer, or at least a path to follow.

"Sav," Jughead's sudden entrance made me jump in my spot and turn to face him. He had only left moments ago to head home but looked absolutely panicked. "I saw him. The Gargoyle King."

"Jug, what the hell? Just now?" I took a few steps towards him, gently placing my hands on his forearms to calm him down.

He nodded, his eyes wildly searching the room as if the Gargoyle King was going to jump out at any moment. "As I was walking home. I followed him into a clearing. Savanna, there's others. There's like ten of them, almost like his disciples, all worshiping the king."

"Oh my God," I mumbled.

"They had on these masks, like they were a gang. A gang of Gargoyles," He explained.

My eyes widened as I motioned towards the exit. "Then let's go after them!"

"No!" Jug disagreed, "We shouldn't push our luck. Not until we know more."

I crossed my arms, slightly annoyed that he was backing down when we had a perfect opportunity to uncover more about this. "Well, who could they be, Jug?"

"Joaquin." Archie interrupted our conversation and instantly gained our attention as we walked toward him. He grunted as he shifted his position slightly before continuing, "Joaquin told Kevin about a new king, and then Joaquin ran into the woods."

"We know Warden Norton is playing G&G, and Joaquin was doing his dirty work," I added as I looked at Jughead.

He nodded slightly as he tried to put the pieces together. "It's just another damning piece of evidence that the warden could be our Gargoyle King."

--

News that Archie was on the run spread like a wildfire throughout the grounds of Riverdale. Wanted posters could be located on every corner and there were constant police cars scanning the streets. It seemed school was no escape either as Sheriff Minetta paced in front of us in the classroom, ranting about the risks Archie posed.

"Archie is a murderer and we know he didn't escape alone. He had help. Hiding a convict or withholding information from the law is a felony offense. So, whoever has aided and abetted Archie Andrews is just as much of a criminal as he is." Sheriff Minetta stopped in front of Reggie, seemingly staring the teen down as if he were hiding something.

Reggie didn't falter however, and instead kept a calm expression. "I was busy all day, sheriff. You can check my browser history, if you know what I mean."

I rolled my eyes as chuckles filled the room. Jughead shook his head from his spot next to me as Sheriff Minetta moved on to attack Josie. "Where were you, Miss McCoy, at the time of the breakout?"

"Don't look at me, sir. I, uh, I was in the music room. Practicing," Josie fought to come up with an excuse.

"Alone?" Sheriff Minetta pushed further. "I'll be looking into all of your alibis and if I find out later that someone in here was involved," He paused to lean his hands on Josie's desk as he got inches from her face. "You can say goodbye to your school, your hopes, your dreams, your music. Your entire future will go away just like that." He stood back up to address the whole class once more. "So again, to be clear, if you know anything-"

"Sheriff Minetta, back off!" Cheryl interrupted his repetitive rant as Josie collapsed against her desk, shaking back and forth. Cheryl was quick to catch Josie before she slid off her desk, unconscious. The room erupted into hushed whispers as help was called for to get Josie to the nurse.

Once the situation was taken care off, Jughead and I snuck off to the Blue and Gold room to converse. We tucked ourselves in between the cabinets and the desk, all of our work scattered around us. I pulled my knees up to my chest as I watched Jughead's pen move rapidly against his paper.

"Another seizure, as if things weren't crazy enough," He scoffed and ripped the page off his notebook, tossing it in the garbage behind him.

I sighed and rested my chin against my knees. "I know. First Betty, then Ethel, now Josie. What's the connection there?"

"Speaking of connections with Warden Norton dead, there goes our theory of him being the Gargoyle King," Jug didn't stop the annoyance from creeping into his tone. Betty had informed us this morning of the warden's death, leading us straight into another dead end with our investigations.

I glanced at the yearbook on the floor, seeing the pages Betty had bookmarked before she left. "Maybe not," I hummed as I picked the book up. "A possible connection between your parents and Warden Norton?" I turned the yearbook towards Jughead, allowing him to see the page.

"Warden Norton was the RROTC instructor for Riverdale High?" Jughead read the information out loud, as if trying to convince himself of it.

I nodded. "Yep. The same year your parents started the Midnight Club. Jug, obviously your parents are hiding more about it. It all started with the Midnight Club. Featherhead was the first blue-lipped death on record. Somehow, we're going to have to get the parents to start talking with one of us, probably Betty. It'll force them into telling the truth, even if it means backing them into a corner."

"Got something in mind?" Jughead asked as he closed the book and set it aside.

I shrugged lightly as I pulled my knees closer again. "I could probably talk to Ronnie about using the speakeasy. I'll check everything over with Betty and we'll make a plan."

"While you're working on that, I'll rally the Serpents. We have to find Joaquin. He was the warden's accomplice so he's probably has the best idea of what was going on inside Norton's mind."

I nodded as Jughead got to his feet, leaning down to give me a kiss on the forehead before exiting the room. I took a deep breath before piling all of our evidence together and shoving it in my bag. My hand fished through my jacket pockets for my phone as I made my way out of the Blue and Gold. I tapped on my screen blindly until Betty's name came across it before I shoved it in between my shoulder and ear.

"Betty? I have a plan. You up for a little interrogation?"

--