Flatline ((Jughead Jones)) 3

16

Jughead and I entered the den of Ghoulies, Jughead convinced that he could make them an offer they couldn't refuse. From the look of the derelict building, game boards scattered around as different games of G and G were played around some 'living area', they were too far gone. Even the light from the outside couldn't break into the room.

We found Kurtz, the so- called leader of the gang, in the back corner. With a simple nod of his head, both Jughead and I took a seat. I wished Jughead had let me bring my newly stolen bow, but from looking around, I had a feeling these drug addicted, game playing souls would view that as more of a threat that I needed.

"I'm the Serpent King, me and my Queen are here to make you an offer." Jughead began, looking at the Ghoulie boy. He looked young, younger than we were, and his mind seemed to be elsewhere, but his eyes were focused. "You're all wanted for making and dealing Fizzle Rocks. But if you and your Gargoyles join my gang, I can promise you immunity from the Sheriff's office and the law."
"Law." The boy began, his face illuminated by the shadows surrounding him. He seemed to be just a head, floating out from the darkness. "Immunity." His smile was haunting and sent a chil of fear racing down my spine. "I have looked into the eyes of the king. And his, is the only law." Kurtz leant forward to Jughead, briefly looking over at me, before focusin back on the Serpent. "The law of Gargoyles, carved in stone."
"So, you wanna play a game? I'm a game master, in cahoots with the Angel of Death." He stated. Jughead had found that if he mentioned me, something inside game players stirred, like a trigger word. I was a part of this game, and a key part at that, it seemed. "Let me be your game master."
"You think Gryphons and Gargoyles is a game?" Kurtz spoke slowly, drawing out every single word as it was delicate and the word would shatter if spoken too loudly or too quickly. "You are mistaken."

Kurtz stood from his hidden shadow, standing to his full height and making both myself and Jughead stand up with him, refusing to be threatened by a clear Fizzle Rocks addict.
"You come here as a King, but you are not a king. The Angel of Death will bring you your comeuppance, as she will get hers. And you think we are playing a game." Kurtz was toe to toe with Jughead, challenging him, daring him to swing first. All of his muscles were tense, and his head twitched as Jughead reached for my hand, bringing me closer to him as Kurtz began to circle us both.

He returned to his darkened corner, sitting on a fallen stone block, and looking back at us with the same eerie look he had to begin with.
"We are living a prophecy. And you are all just sacrifices, waiting to be made. And an Angel waiting to make them. The Gargoyle King lives. He will decide. And he will choose. And only the worthy will the Angel let ascend." Jughead pulled me out of the house. Why did I have to be the Angel of Death? And why did I have to be involved with every stupid mystery that seemed o go on in this town?

It wasn't until later that day that I heard of Archie's fight. The Ghoulies no longer existed, and it seemed that the Gargoyles held all the power. And, in the middle of all that chaos, my brother was getting wrapped up in his own, a fight of honour, and a fight of pride.

So, when we eventually walked into the trailer, announcing that the ghoulies were now the Gargoyles, and that they wouldn't be an option, my mind was on Archie, wondering if he had more luck that I had.
"Same guys, different masks. Did you recruit them?" Gladys asked. She clearly didn't realise the web those kids were caught up in, and how tangled they had become. It would take a miracle or one hell of an offer to get them to leave the confines of their drug den.
"No. I'll find another way to save the Serpents. Besides, Queenie already got payback on our behalf." JUghead announced, pulling me to sit between him and his dad.

Take out was sat on the coffee table as everyone dug into the meal.
"Gargoyles aren't the answer, they shouldn't be anywhere near us." I added, earning agreement from both FP and Jughead. Jughead told his dad how deep the kids had gotten. The game had swirled like fog in their minds and it was the only thing that made sense to them. Maybe it was their way of dealing with trauma. In the realm that was created by the game, they were no longer drug addicted dropouts, but warriors, spell casters, royalty. Maybe their alternative wasn't as good as the fiction.

We all ate, and before long, I heard Gladys slip out the door, claiming to be going on a walk, and FP headed to bed. Jughead, Jellybean and I sat up, debating which horror film to put on. Jughead and I were trying to convince her that older movies were just as good modern, computer edited ones, where the skill was in the editing rather than the production.

Before long, the original Nightmare on Elm Street was put into the DVD player, and I was in the kitchen making popcorn, pretending I couldn't hear the conversation the brother and sister were having.
"I knew you'd end up with her. She's different from how I remember her." I heard Jelly Bean say. She had grown a lot from when I last saw her. She was barely walking when she left, and now she was a fully established teenager that clearly knew what she wanted and how to get there.

"She's been through a lot, JB." Was his reply, and I could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke.

What he had said was true, and as the pops began, I almost thought that their conversation was over. Instead, it took a different turn. I knew Jughead had explained my history to both his mom and JB, so there wouldn't be much they didn't know.
"She's not like a Blossom, is she?" and Jughead silently laughed. He always said that apart from my mother, the only thing that attatched me to the Blossoms was my hair, and maybe my obsession with red.
"She's an Andrews." I nealy felt the tears well up in my eyes at his comment. Jughead thought I was more an Andrews than a Blossom. Blossom's were the epitome of high society in Riverdale, established, and full of secrets and lies. Andrews' were loyal and valued family before everything else, and to be in the same field as that, filled my heart with more joy than I thought possible.

Putting the warm popcorn into a bowl and joining them, I found they both smiled at my entrance. I had expected to see a fake smile on Jelly Bean's face, one that reflected her mother's. Instead, I saw one of genuine happiness, and one of a friendly nature. JB was nothing like her mother.

I sat on Jughead's lap as we looked to the screen, pointing out a young Johnny Depp to JB, who was astonished at what he looked like without the extravagant makeup his modern characters required. She then looked to the two of us, smiling to herself, thinking I hadn't caught her, and turned back to the screen.

The door opened and three men in Gargoyle masks walked in. We were all on our feet immediately, the popcorn abandoned on the floor, and our attention on the uninvited guests. I grabbed my bow that had been stored under the coffee table for the time being, and pulled an arrow, pointing it at the nearest Gargoyle, waiting to take him out. Jughead had a pocket knife drawn and Jelly bean had her catapult loaded ready for the threat to attack.
"It's okay, kids. Stand down." Gladys enter after the Gargoyles
"What the hell is this? Are they here with you?" Jughead asked. Jellybean had her catapult lowered but both J's and mine were still aimed.
"I did what you and the princess couldn't."

Gladys pulled the masks off the centre person, revealing Kurtz, glaring. The other two pulled off their masks, showing their faces and looking to Jughead. He lowered his knife, and I released the tension in my bow, keeping the arrow there in case one of the Gargoyles went rogue.

Jughead stepped towards his mom, glaring and pointing at the Gargoyles who had barged into their home uninvited. "This is a bad idea." He stated, voicing my thoughts. The Gargoyles were obsessed with a game, idolised a murderer and thought nothing of committing the crime themselves. Not only were they not the right people for the Serpents, but their reputation really wouldn't help with. "Sweetheart, sometimes, beggars can't be choosers. I know you guys will find a way to work together. We need all the manpower we can get to take this town back." Gladys wasn't doing this for Jughead, or even the Serpents. This was something to do with her plan, and I had to find out what was brewing beneath the surface with her, before it blew up in our faces.