In The Middle

Chapter 12 The Nightmares

Archie laid in his bed, tossing and turning. Sweating profusely.

IN THE DREAM

Archie was walking down the street with his friends, talking about school when they suddenly heard tires screech. They all turned and watched as it got closer and closer.

Archie suddenly woke up with a gasp. He looked around and realised that he was back in his room. He sighed with relief before laying back down.

THE NEXT MORNING

Archie wheeled himself into the kitchen and grabbed his breakfast.

"Hey son. How'd you sleep?" Fred asked as he watched as Archie then wheeled himself into the dining room.

"Good" Archie sighed. Fred immediately noticed the glum tone in his sons voice so he proceeded to ask what was wrong.

"You ok?" Fred asked.

"Yeah. I'm ok Dad" Archie replied, looking at his father as he began to eat his breakfast.

"You don't sound ok. You seem like something is bothering you" Fred said.

"Dad, it's nothing alright. Please, can we just drop the subject?" Archie said. Fred sighed slowly and then nodded.

"So, you feeling like going to school today?" Fred asked. Archie thought for a moment. He did want to be there but at the same time, he knew that it would cause him stress.

"You mind if I take today off?" Archie asked. Fred nodded.

LATER

Archie had decided to go back to bed, hoping that at least a nap could deplete some of the stress. But it didn't when he began to have another nightmare.

The memories of the accident came in flashes. The car coming up fast, him being hit by the car, the sound of a windshield breaking and him hitting the ground.

Downstairs, Fred was reading the newspaper when he suddenly heard Archie's screams. Believing his son was in trouble, he threw the newspaper aside and bolted up the stairs. He pushed his sons door open and rushed over to a very sweaty Archie. Who was still screaming in his sleep.

"Archie! Son, wake up" Fred said, putting his hands on Archie's shoulders. Archie woke up almost immediately but continued to scream. His father tried everything to calm him down.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here son, I'm here" Fred said, hugging Archie. Archie slowly began to calm down.

A LITTLE BIT LATER

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Fred asked, sitting beside Archie. Archie shook his head.

"Son, you've gotta tell me. You can't keep doing this" Fred said.

"Ok fine. For the past few weeks I've been getting nightmares" Archie said, sighing with annoyance.

"What about?" Fred asked.

"The accident" Archie said.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Fred asked.

"I was in the street with Ronnie, Betty and Jug and all of a sudden I see this car coming towards us. I push them out of the way and then I get hit" Archie said.

"Do you remember anything after that?" Fred asked. Archie looked at his dad for a few seconds. He thought about talking about his out-of-body experience but at the same time, he didn't know what his father was going to say about it.

"I uh....I had an out-of-body experience" Archie said.

"Wha-when?" Fred asked.

"Just after I was hit" Archie said.

"What happened during that experience?" Fred asked.

"I don't remember much but I saw Uncle Oscar" Archie said. Fred looked at Archie in a state of shock.

"I know. It sounds weird" Archie sighed, shaking his head.

"No it's not weird. I'm just....I'm just shocked at the fact that you saw your uncle" Fred said.

"Well, Uncle Oscar told me that in order to come back I had to do a set of challenges" Archie said.

"Which were?" Fred asked.

"G&G challenges" Archie said.

"Why?" Fred asked.

"I don't know Dad. But listen, I don't really feel like talking about anymore. I'm sorry for dropping the subject but I really don't want to talk about it anymore" Archie said.

"Ok well, I got a call from FP earlier while you were asleep. Jughead's coming over to see how you're doing" Fred said. Archie nodded.

He really needed his best friend right now. That was the only thing he really needed.