Under pressure

38: Happy 16th! (Part 2)

Jughead's POV

I go to the bar. "She's not at the River!" I yell. The others are back. I mean most of them, 'cause many of them wemt to look around everywhere even out of town.

They all sigh. The bar is so quiet and everyone is bummed that they can't do anything.

"If she-" dad starts, but gets interrupted by his phone ringing.

His eyes go wide, "Everyone, quiet. It's a hidden number."

I run to him and my brothers sisters on the stage. He answers it. "Hello?"

"Hello, FP," I hear Hal's voice.

My teeth clink together, telling me to stay quiet. "Harold," dad says between his teeth.

"I guess by now you've noticed that something's missing."

"She's not a thing," Chic says to us quietly between his teeth.

"If you want to get her back, you need to sit in the car wht's in front of the bar at the moment. Only you. If someone else comes, your precious girl is dead."

"No! Don't listen to-" we hear Betty's voice yelling and then like someone would crack a bone. She screams in pain.

"Shut up!" Hal yells and I hear her trying to hold the sobs back.

"What do you want for exchange?" dad asks.

"You have to tell the police that you killed her. That you killed Alice."

My eyes go wide as everyone's. Dad looks hurt and shocked, but he sighs. "Okay."

"No, what? Dad you can't-" I start, but he shows me to shut up. I don't think Hal heared me though.

"Go now." The call ends.

"Call the police. Let them track down my phone and come to get Hal," he says.

Everyone nods. "Dad," Cher says sadly. Everyone is calling him dad now. Like we've been living together for 5 months now or something. And they all feel like he's their dad too, so it comes naturally. Which is weird, 'cause he now basically like has 7 kids.

"I'll be fine," he says, and I see that he actually believes it. He looks at me, "Give me your flannel and no following."

I gulp. I'm not gonna let him go alone. "Don't let him follow me," he tells the others after I give him my flannel around my hips. I grit my teeth as he leaves and the others don't even let me move.

"They'll be fine, Jug," Jordan says. Slurpe calls the police.

30 minutes later

FP's POV

They pull me out of the car and then get my hands behind my back and start pushing me into the basement. Everything's so dirty, mud's on the stairs even.

They open some door. I hear Betty's screams already. They open three more doors and I see her finally.

Some Ghoulies are holding her up on her feet but she has obviously been tied to a chair before. She's limp. She can't stand herself. And she's bloody. Her arm is twisted around and it's in a weird position.

I wanna kill all of them. Here are Hal and some Ghoulies. I wanna kill them all.

"Dad," Betty cries out.

Hal slaps her for that. I punch him and he falls on the ground. They grab me now and hold on place

"The deal was that you give her back now!" I yell furiously.