Weirdo - Jughead Jones

27: Back to the Forest

I watched as Jughead turned the corner and disappeared. I felt like I should have run after him; he had always been there for me, and I wanted to be with him. I guess we worked differently when these things happened.

I returned to Betty, Vee, and Archie and told them what happened. That FP had confessed to Jason's murder. It didn't make sense to any of us.

The rest of the afternoon was foggy. It went by fast, but it felt like forever. My bill for the milkshake had already been paid. The others left, and I stayed at Pop's, going over the events of the past twenty-four hours. Talking to Polly, finding my dad, meeting the doctor who said that my dad was in a coma, and then FP getting arrested and confessing to kidnapping Jason Blossom, holding him captive in the basement of the Whyte Wyrm, and murdering him. It didn't make sense.

"It doesn't make sense." I whispered it to myself. It was so confusing and frustrating and I wanted it to end. I harshly wiped a tear from my cheek.

I got up and left Pop's, my feet taking minds of their own.

Without a second thought I was back at the forest. I was breathing heavily and I didn't know why. Tears were falling again as I walked into the forest, close to where I found my father. I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

I sat there for a while to just breathe. I listened to the wind blowing through the trees. Birds were singing in the air. I watched the shadows dancing on the forest floor. The river that Jason and Cheryl crossed so long ago was a little farther into the woods, and I could hear the water rushing.

After a few peaceful minutes, I saw something different. It was close to where we found the car of evidence, behind the haunting Blossom Maple Farms sign. It was a duffle bag.

I got up and walked towards it. It looked empty, but it was still zipped up. I looked around to see if anyone was there with me. I only saw trees and the empty road. I unzipped the duffel bag.

Inside was a Bulldog's varsity jacket from school, bright blue and yellow. I picked it up and looked at it. The jackets usually had names embroidered on them, so I turned it around to see whose it was.

Jason

I was shocked to read Jason's name stitched in yellow. We hadn't seen this here in the last couple of times that we came to the forest. Had it been dropped here recently? Who had it before? Did they dump it here on purpose?

While I was standing there I heard a distant sound of a car. Quickly, I shoved the jacket back into the duffel bag and hid it in the bush behind the old sign. I backed farther into the trees and crouched behind one with a thick trunk. A dark green truck with a trailer attached to it came down the road. Another showed up at the other side of the road, coming the opposite way. They both stopped in the middle, in front of the Blossom sign. The drivers got out and greeted each other with a short nod before they both walked to the back of the trailer. The man who had driven with the trailer was middle-aged. When he turned around I noticed that he had a Serpent jacket. He looked around them. I ducked when his head turned in my direction, hoping to god that he couldn't see me.

Whether he saw me or not, the man proceeded to unlock the trailer and open it up. From where I was watching I could see a wooden crate inside the trailer.

I couldn't believe what I was watching. I tried to move as calmly and quietly as possible as I picked my phone out if my back pocket. Thanking god that it had been on silent, I raised it slightly and arranged it so that the camera just peeked around the trunk of the tree. I took as many photos as I could of the drug deal before me.

The other driver gave the Serpent a duffel bag, and the Serpent looked into it to verify that it was filled with cash. He then closed the trailer and disconnected it from his truck, which he got into and drove out of the way so that the other driver could attach it to his car. I squinted and strained to see that the other car had a Canada license plate. Once the trailer was latched onto the other car, both drivers went their separate ways.

I waited until neither was still in sight before looking at the photos I had just taken. My first thought was to send them to Jughead, but then I remembered that he needed time with all that was happening, and this would only add to his plate.

After a couple of minutes I realized how late it was. I stood up, brushed the forest dirt off my jeans, and began to walk back to the town.

It was windy and cold as I walked on the side of the road. The twilight was transitioning into night, getting darker by the minute. I was alone, which made every small sound ten times louder. I wrapped my arms around myself and wished that Jughead were here. I felt so safe with him. I knew that I needed him, but I had to respect his wishes to be alone. I couldn't tell him about my dad because, again, it would add to his plate. My plate was full, and I would just have to deal with it until this storm of events would have passed.

I had been walking while so deep in thought that I failed to take in my surroundings. I suddenly realized that I was about to pass something which made my stomach twist in fear. The Serpent's green truck from before was parked in a pull off on my side of the road. It was so dark that the truck had almost blended in with the trees. It was only a few feet away.

The truck was empty.

That meant—

"You lost, babe?" I gasped when I heard a raspy, almost familiar voice from behind me, and before I could turn around or run I was grabbed roughly by the arm. Something hard came down on my head. There was an explosion of pain, and then everything went black as I fell to the ground.