Unholy

Prologue

Riverdale is no stranger to evil. Jason Blossom's death was tagged as the first step into the dark, but the little town has always been on the rougher end of things. You wouldn't think it looking at the northside. The children of the northsiders are perfect writers, artists, musicians, business leaders, and detectives. Their clothes are bright and considerably more expensive than anything someone outside of the northside could afford. However, one step into the southside and you would see any evil you were looking for. Don't get me wrong. The northside has the same amount of drugs, violence, and affairs as the southside. They just hide it under white picket fences, cashmere sweaters, and a rather charming arrogance. 

Jason may have been the first real step into the dark, but he certainly wasn't the last. With Jason's murder, the young aspiring detective Betty Cooper almost singlehandedly revealed Jason's relationship with her sister Polly, uncovered family secrets that had been buried for longer than her entire existence, and stopped perhaps the most unexpected killer in all of Riverdale; her father Hal Cooper. In the process, she found out that their family is related to the Blossoms. The Black Hood was her worst nightmare and he lived under her very roof. Then, of course, there was Clifford Blossom, Chick, Jingle Jangle, Hiram Lodge, the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, the Gargoyle King, and the Farm. Some of those we are still dealing with, and if I missed anything please let me know. It just seems like the little nowhere town can't catch a break and in the midst of all of this, there is the wars between the Northside and Southside. 

Let me take a moment to introduce the characters of this story. I, the author, am Jughead Jones. Now, I don't like to include myself but my girlfriend would kill me if I didn't, and I may be just a tad scared of her. I am a Southsider myself and the king of the Serpents, a gang that has been in Riverdale for as long as the town itself. My dad,  FP, was the former king who stepped down in a quest for sobriety. My mom Gladys and little sister Jellybean have been MIA for a while, but at their own choice. I miss them, but they chose to leave and dad chose to stay with me. He may not be the best father, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Betty Cooper, the teenage unpaid detective, is the next character. She is the daughter of Alice Smith and Hal Cooper, and maybe she is the love of my life. The girlfriend I mentioned before? Yeah, that's her. A blonde beauty with a signature ponytail and determination to solve even the smallest of mysteries. She is a natural-born northsider and wants to become an official serpent. But if you think I am letting my girlfriend get up there and do that dance, you are badly mistaken.

Archie Andrews is perhaps the whole reason any of this matters. My childhood best friend grew up to be the hotheaded jock no one expected. Except he's not. He plays football but also has a passion for music and he's good. Or so Ms. Grundy said before she skedaddled out of town and got herself killed. Hooking up with a student isn't kosher with the residents. His fiery red hair almost makes him seem like a Blossom, but he is anything but. He is your all American good boy with strength, skills, and determination to remain in Riverdale for the rest of his life. It truly is his calling.

Veronica Lodge, Hiram Lodge's daughter, is Archie's guilty pleasure and the main reason he finds himself in so much trouble. He would never admit that, though. She is a dark-haired beauty with a craving to counter every horrible thing her father has ever done with good. She wants what the rest of us do, a break from all of the adult drama. She will never get it, though. Her father has wronged too many people. She will be cleaning up his mess until the day she dies. She does it very elegantly though, beating him at his own games. Swindle the swindler, outsmart the smart. You get the gist. She will get in the dirt and come up without a single smudge in her makeup.

Cheryl is the final mention-worthy person. She is the twin of Jason Blossom, and the death changed something in her.  She is a double-sided sheet of paper, for lack of a better analogy. She wears her red hair proudly, like everything else she owns. She is confident and dangerous, despite being one of the least liked students at Riverdale High. She is feared and admired, not necessarily loved. She always seems to have a place in everyone's hearts though, even if it is the very bottom dark valve of the organ. What can I say, she wears red so well. She has a serpent jacket like the rest of us, but she didn't do the dance either. Toni wouldn't let her and opted to have her be a queen serpent. Toni Topaz loves her girlfriend more than anyone will ever know. The two make quite the pair with one being a natural-born serpent and the other being a Blossom.

My serpents are my family, and I will never let them down. In unity there is strength. We stand together or not at all. Sweet Pea, Fangs Fogarty, Hog Eye, Hot Dog, Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Toni Topaz, and a few others make up the official and unofficial line of serpents. There is more history to come, and this certainly isn't the final list of characters. Keep in mind that this is a detailed story of what really happened in the lives of all of those at Riverdale, and it certainly isn't the end. Not when I can feel a shift in the air and the jingle of the bell at Pop's pulls me away from this for a few moments only to be informed that one more curveball, perhaps another reckoning, just rolled into town in a classic blacked-out mustang. Pulling up to Thorn Hill and unpacking another person to impact our lives. It doesn't stay long, but when it leaves, it doesn't take everything with it, either.