Betty sat uncomfortably in Archie's truck as they followed Jughead. Peering down at her feet, she noticed that her blood had stained not only the floor of his car, but the upholstery seats as well.
Archie cleared his throat. "I didn't mean what I said earlier, about Jughead. I didn't. . . I didn't know."
Betty had to piece together what he was saying before it registered, still thinking about Archie's truck. "I didn't know either," she said, bending over to see his face. Veronica sat squished in the middle, holding her phone in her hand, watching Jughead's icon move up the screen.
Veronica scoffed. "Lucky for us, that dumbass forgot that we all synced the GPS on our phones earlier this summer."
Betty glanced at Veronica's phone, then the road, looking for landmarks. He was about thirty minutes ahead of them. "Where is he going?"
"Hell if I know," Archie said, "Left or right?"
"Take a right."
Betty scrunched her nose as a coppery smell crept up her nostrils. Did she smell blood? Surely not. She inconspicuously adjusted herself between Veronica and the door, the .25 Caliber jabbing into her side. Betty found it in Jughead's trailer after he left. She hoped it was his only weapon, but she knew better.
Her mind drifted to the worst-that-could-happens as Archie traveled down a spindly road that was making her sick.
"Be careful!" Veronica said, bracing herself.
Archie cursed under his breath as he slammed his foot on the break.
They stopped on the edge of a cliff, the ominous town of Riverdale displayed in front of them. Tiny white and yellow lights flickered. Betty could barely make out the neon "Pop's" sign.
Archie exhaled. "Holy shit."
If Archie hadn't stopped the car when he did, they would all be dead. There were no guardrails along the side of the road, and beneath the cliff lay long, fatal way down.
"You almost got us killed, Archie," Veronica said, her brown eyes wide.
Betty's lungs felt like ropes were tied around them. She stepped out of the car for fresh air.
"Betty, What are you doing?" Veronica asked.
Betty stopped looking for signs halfway through the drive; so she wouldn't have a clue where they were now, or especially how they got here. But it was beautiful. For a moment, as the frigid air simultaneously stung her nostrils and cleansed them of the smell of blood, she thought of nothing. Not Jughead, not Penny, not even her mother, whom she wouldn't like to admit how much she actually thought of her.
Betty stepped to the edge of the road, just to get a closer look.
The sun was beginning to trade places with the moon. She never realized how beautiful her town really was in till now. She had been in a bubble- a Riverdale bubble. But now, she was on the outside. She was the observer.
Betty stepped closer till the first half of her feet hung over the edge.
Betty closed her eyes and listened. The slight ring of the timid wind filled her ears.
A raven flapped high above her head, the span of its wings casting a slight shadow above her.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
The chill of the bird's sounds was comforting.
Her mind was as still as the air. Betty had never felt more in-sync with herself than this moment.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
She wanted the raven to carry her to the top of the cliff. She trusted nature's wind and animals to keep her safe now.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
Just another step and she'd be as free as the raven above.
Betty lifter one foot and let it dangle over the edge, keeping her eyes closed.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
She felt a hand wrap around her shoulder and jerk her back. Betty's eyes pride open.
"Betty? What the hell were you doing?" Veronica's brows furrowed.
Betty pointed to the bottom of the cliff. "Look."
Veronica carefully stepped closer and closer to the edge, her steps infinitely more calculated than Betty's.
At the bottom sat an ugly, rugged building. It was laughably small, with most of its paint missing and the door hanging open. Betty stuffed her hands in her jacket pocket, her right hand lightly tracing the trigger of the gun. She wouldn't use it unless she needed to.
"Well," Archie said from behind them, hand in his hips, "looks like we found him."
YOU ARE READING
Taken- A Bughead Fanific
FanficThe gang has a lot of ordeals on there plate... but no one in Riverdale would be prepared for what was to follow after the release of Archie Andrews. Especially the girl next door.
