Flatline ((Jughead Jones)) 3

6

A deadly mutating virus had been introduced to the ecosystem of Riverdale, and it was spreading like an epidemic. For every manual confiscated, two popped up in its place. And the ever resourceful students of Riverdale High were playing it everywhere. Why? Because for us the game was an escape from our nightmarish reality, a fantasyland at our fingertips. But for our parents, it was a death-dealing nightmare.

The mayor had officially banned the game. This sent every teen in the school straight into the arms of G&G. Each day it seemed more and more people had played the game, and the longer people played, the more they seemed to avoid me.

"Jug, have you noticed that some people are avoiding me?" I had asked him while walking into the cafeteria. He had tried to deny it, but I noticed a few of the students and serpents look down. Either he didn't notice or he was choosing to ignore it, but I could see it. People that were playing had stopped looking at me in the halls, or would avoid my gaze at Serpent meetings.

Over the next few days, I noticed more and more that Jughead was becoming distant. He was always running off to do something, and leaving me on my own, something he had warned me wouldn't happen. He knew that after what happened in the last school play I wasn't over the anxiety just yet. He knew that at night I needed him more than ever if I wanted to sleep through the night. But over the next few days, the nightmares came more often, even when I drifted off napping on the couch downstairs, my dad would walk into the room to calm my screaming form.

"Cynthia, there you are!" I turned around in my wheelchair, after putting my books in my locker. The not sleeping was starting to take a toll on my body, and today I couldn't take the pain of hauling myself to each lesson and then all the way home with Betty. Betty was walking up to me, then grabbed the handles of the wheelchair ready to take me home.

"You look like you want to tell me something, Betty." I told her as she had the eager look of a detective in her eyes. She smiled and pushed me out of the school and down the sidewalk.

"My mom told me she, and a lot of our parents were in some club that would sneak into school and play G&G. It was crazy. There principle was even killed in a similar way to Dilton." This new development was interesting but it wasn't exactly shocking. The fact that they were against the game, even the idea of the game was telling enough, but their fear proved something bad had happened.

"I'm guessing we are going to tell Jughead?" I asked. It was obvious we were going to be telling Jughead.

That was exactly where the two of us headed that night, to find Jughead in the bunker where he had told us he would be. We arrived and dropped ourselves into the hole in the ground, Betty beginning to tell Jug what she had to tell him, but stopping herself. I had just lowered my feet onto the floor when I heard Betty's speech stop. When I turned I saw Jug, Fangs, Sweet Pea, Toni and Cheryl all playing the game.

Jug looked up in shock that we were there, while the others looked to Betty. I called my sisters name, but she moved closer to Toni, looking down to stop her from accidentally seeing me.

"Jug you said the Angel of Death wouldn't be here." Fangs said to Jug who just looked up at me.

"Betty, Thia. It's all making sense. All of this is becoming clear. The game, the Gargoyle King. I'm on level 3. It's only a matter of time before I ascend. And I get to meet him." Jughead smiled at us evilly. Betty and I shared worried glances. We weren't about to get involved with the game, but it was clear Jughead was in way over his head.

I looked to the Serpents around the table. One of them was my sister. One of them was the one person I would class as my best friend. Finally, there were the two boys whom I had grown to love as my two older brothers, my serpent brothers, the ones who I knew had my back. But none of them would spare a glance at me.